Broken
by lady-warrioress
Summary: A broken warrior lies benieth the armor. Will a Togruta rose be able to bring out the living part within? Grievous and Shaak Ti story. Reviews welcome
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

**In a moment, everything can change.**

_Disclaimer: I do not own **Star Wars** or **Fly. Star Wars **belongs to Lucasfilms. Copywrites belong to those who own them. I am making no money from this fic. _

Shaak Ti huddled in the train car with Stass Allie, four Red Guards, and Chancellor Palpatine. She could hear Mace Windu and Kit Fisto fighting General Grievous and his Magna Guards on the roof of the train. She hoped her Jedi companions would win.

She had sworn to protect the Chancellor. If Mace and Kit lost she and Stass would have to take their places. She was not looking forward to it, not after what had happened the last time she'd fought him.

Her hands reached into her cloak and touched the handle of her lightsaber. It was there and ready. Her hands were trembling but not from fear and worry but... Fate.

She was remembering an accident on Hypori over two and a half years ago. A fight. Losing. Incapacitated. At her enemy's mercy. Yet she'd lived.

Fighting General Grievous and losing yet being allowed to live didn't bother her. The fact that he _let her live _bothered her. Why would he let her live yet kill her comrades?

A hand on her arm caused her to come back to reality. She looked to her left. Stass Allie stared at her. "Yes?" the Togruta woman asked.

"Don't worry," Stass assured her. "They'll stop him."

_That's what I'm afraid of, _the other woman thought but all she did was smile and nod her head. There was _no way_ she wanted her friend to know what was _really _bothering her.

Suddenly the whole train rocked, almost knocking everyone off their feet. Stass and Shaak used the Force to keep everyone from falling over.

The Togruta woman's heart almost stopped when she felt the train falling backwards. "What happened?" she asked reeling.

"I don't know," Stass replied helping the Red Guards keep the Chancellor on his feet.

Shaak Ti grabbed onto a window pane. She gasped for breath. _We're all going to die!_

Suddenly the train began to pull ahead again but only till it leveled out. Shaak Ti sighed, relieved. She saw repulster lifts coming toward the train. "Let's get the Chancellor out of here," she said.

The other woman Jedi and the Red guards nodded. "Right."

They started for the door.

* * *

As the platform pulled away from the train two crafts landed on it. Clone troopers and four Jedi Knights jumped out of the crafts and joined the other party.

Mace called to the pilot of one of the ships and discussed chasing General Grievous. After a minute he turned to the two women. "We need to pursue Grievous," he told them all. "You take the Chancellor to a safe place."

Shaak Ti nodded. "We'll see the Chancellor the rest of the way to the bunker." She turned to the others. "Let's go."

They boarded the gunship. Shaak Ti was the last one on.

* * *

When the ship landed in the Sah'c neighborhood everyone got off. Deep within the underground waited the bunker. Palpatine and the Red Guards boarded a waiting speeder.

Shaak Ti said she and Stass would join the Jedi Knights escorting him soon after she and Stass contacted the Temple. "May the Force be with you," she said as she watched them go.

Just as she turned to join Stass the Force altered and a premonition filled the Togruta's mind. Dying. Death. Four Jedi Knights dying and Palpatine being taken away. She realized she couldn't let that happen. It would go against her orders.

"Stass," she said catching the other woman by the arm.

"Yes?" Stass Allie asked turning to her friend.

"I... I must go," the woman said in a rush.

"Go?" Stass said confused. "Go where?"

Shaak Ti turned to the tunnel. She noticed another speeder. This one was a bike. She picked it up and hopped on.

"Shaak!" Stass exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, Stass," Shaak Ti said looking over her shoulder. "But you'll have to contact the Temple yourself."

"What?"

The Togruta woman turned the speeder on. "I'm sorry," she said again.

"SHAAK!" Stass Allie yelled after her friend as the other Jedi woman roared the speeder into the tunnel.

An explosion resounded behind Shaak Ti a minute later but she did not stop. She could feel Stass was still alive through the Force. She was worried a little but she had to do this. She had to protect Palpatine even if it meant facing _him _again...

* * *

General Grievous, who was totally unaware of Shaak Ti's plans, was making his way to the Chancellor's bunker, killing everyone that got in his way. When he reached the end of the tunnel he easily killed the troopers guarding the door then typed in the code he'd received. "Don't harm the Chancellor," he told the Magna Guards flanking him. "We're here to capture him not kill him."

What Grievous didn't admit was; he would have killed Palpatine himself had he not been given orders not to.

When the final door retracted he and his guards stepped inside and faced everyone in there, including four Jedi Knights. That was something he hadn't expected.

"Hand over the Chancellor peacefully and I might let you live," he told everyone.

"No!" one of the Knights, a Anithorian snarled igniting his blade. "We will not let you take the Chancellor!"

Grievous didn't have time for this. He ignited his own blades. "All right then," he conceded. "Let's do it your way!"

The four Jedi Knights attacked.

* * *

Shaak Ti made it to the bunker in record time but when she reached the door she discovered she was already too late. As soon as she'd stepped into the entrance she saw Grievous stab the remaining Jedi Knight, a Twi'lek through the heart.

_I'm too late! _she thought, despair washing over her. _I'm too late!_

As that last Jedi fell the fighting stopped. No one was there to protect Palpatine anymore. "Now Chancellor," Grievous said deactivating his ligthsabers. "You're coming with us."

Palpatine regarded him coolly. "You will be a true loss to the force you represent," he said. The human gestured around the room. "Four Jedi Knights, all my guards and soldiers. Why not wait until Shaak Ti and Stass Allie arrive?" she saw him cock his head toward the door and lock eyes with her. "I think I hear them coming. They _are_ Master's after all."

Grievous seemed to hesitate a moment. "Shaak Ti..." she thought she heard him mutter.

_He's summoning me? _She knew she had to stop him. She saw one of the three Magna Guards reach out to grab the Chancellor. She couldn't let that happen.

Instantly she moved. "General Grievous!" she shouted.

The cyborg froze. Slowly he turned around. She saw his eyes fill with surprise when he saw her. "Shaak Ti!" he exclaimed then got a hold of himself. "So a _Master_ has come to challenge me now."

Shaak activated her lightsaber. "I will not let you take the Chancellor," she growled getting into a fighters stance. "Now step away from him."

The General regarded her mildly. "Is that so?" he asked. Grievous walked toward her. "How do you plan on doing that, female?"

She wanted to attack but he wasn't holding any lightsabers now. They were in his pockets.

Suddenly. _Clang. _He dropped them on the floor.

Her eyes grew wide as she stared at him in horror. _He's not armed!_

"Go ahead," he said still walking toward her. "Attack me. I dare you." he saw her hesitate. "That's right. A Jedi would never attack an unarmed person."

Her hands began to tremble. _Unarmed... unarmed... But he's evil. I should attack him anyway... but I **can't!** _She suddenly realized she couldn't fight. She was unable to move. She was almost crying. _Stars! Pick up one of those lightsabers!_

Grievous grabbed the handle of her lightsaber. "I don't think you want to, do you?" he asked. He ripped it out of her hands. Now _she _was the one unarmed. "Do you?"

She stood there, unmoving. Palpatine couldn't see what was happening. All he saw was the cyborgs cape covered back.

Grievous poked her face once with a durasteel finger. "That's a good Jedi," he said smiling under his mask. "Now, since you're here, you might as well come with us but don't cause any trouble. _You_ might not be able to hurt an unarmed person but _I _can!"

She didn't reply. The General put a hand behind her back and thrust her forward. Two Magna Guards caught her.

"Now Chancellor," the cyborg said looking back at Palpatine. "Shall we be going?"

_A/N_

_I got the idea for this fic from a deleted scene on **Revenge Of The Sith**_. _The one where Grievous kills Shaak Ti. It's kinda an alternate story so to speak. I am a rabid fangirl of Grievous. I also like the pairing of Shaak Ti and General Grievous. How that pairing idea came to be I don't know but I like it anyway. I hope you people won't mind. Well I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you have and questions or comments or just want to say "Ummm what?" go ahead. Just please be nice in you criticism. Okay? _


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Broken Dreams

Shaak Ti sat in the back of General Grievous tri-fighter flanked by one of his MagnaGuards. She had no idea where they were going but she wasn't worried about that. She was worried about Palpatine who didn't seem to be upset at the moment. He kept on yelling at the General about his piloting skills.

An explosion rocked the small ship and Shaak Ti let out a tiny yelp. Grievous didn't hear it. He was too busy barking orders at a droid who was talking to him. It didn't take long for her to realize where they were going. The _Invisable Hand. _The cyborg general's personal battleship.

_They're taking him out of Coruscant! _she thought almost panicking. She was brazen enough to say. "Don't."

Grievous turned his chair around to look at her. "What did you say?" he demanded.

"Don't," she said again, not about to allow herself to be intimidated by him. "Don't leave the planet."

"I'll be giving the orders here," he informed her as they landed in the ship's docking bay. "Just be happy I let you live this long."

"Others will come to stop you," she said brazenly though she wasn't sure. "I _know_ they will!"

"Only if they are brave enough for the challenge," he shot back.

Suddenly two lightsaber blades cut through the door.

"Surprise, surprise, General," Palpatine said smugly.

Grievous looked at Palpatine then back at the Togruta. _They're both in on this! _he thought. "We'll see who's surprised," he said. He stalked toward the doors as the blades retracted. He glanced back at Shaak Ti. "Bring her out with me," he ordered. "I want her to see what I do to people who cross me."

"Yes, General," the MagnaGuards said nodding their metal heads. They grabbed her by the arms and pulled her toward the door. She tried to break free but didn't accomplish it. Grievous kicked the door out and jumped down onto the docking bay.

Shaak Ti glanced at Palpatine but he seemed to be thinking about something at the moment. He didn't look at her. _What am I going to do? _she thought.

She was taken out of the ship, and forced to leave the Chancellor by himself inside. Once she and the Guards were out in the docking bay she was able to see Grievous was in the middle of fighting two more Jedi. _I hope they can stop him. _But she knew that was only wishful thinking.

It didn't take long for Grievous to overpower the two Jedi Knights. All he had to do was stand up a bit taller and run them both through. Shaak Ti's breath caught in her throat as she watched the two Jedi fall to the floor, dead.

Grievous turned to the droids prancing toward him. "Jettison the bodies," he instructed. "Choose a place where the Republic can get a good look at them."

He turned back to the ship. His eyes locked on Shaak Ti's a moment. She got his message loud and clear.

"Let's go," he said to the MagnaGuards who escorted Palpatine out of the ship. (Shaak Ti was already out). "The Chancellor comes with me."

"What about her?" one of the Guards asked glancing down at Shaak Ti.

"Take her to the briefing room for now," Grievous replied. "I'll figure out what to do with her later."

As two MagnaGuards took Palpatine into the ship Grievous stayed behind a moment. He stood in front of Shaak T and leaned his face close to her own so that his mask nearly touched the red flesh of her face. "You shouldn't have attempted what you did," he said in almost a whisper. "You should have stayed away instead of playing little Hero."

The Togruta stared at him. Was there regret in his voice? No, he did not know what that was like. She was hearing things.

Grievous turned away from her and headed out of the docking bay. "Take her away," he told the remaining Guard.

* * *

Shaak Ti was thrown roughly to the floor of the briefing room. Her head banged against one of the chairs and she sat there dazed as the MagnaGuard who had taken her there closed and sealed the door. (I don't know)

When she was finally able to shake the fog out of her mind she slowly pulled herself into a chair and sighed as she leaned back in it. _I failed, _she thought, feeling horrible. She hadn't been able to protect the Chancellor or keep those Jedi Knights from being killed. She'd been so intimidated that all she'd been able to do was stand and watch, just because she could not attack an unarmed foe. _This is my fault..._ she touched her belt, the spot where her lightsaber should have been. _I wasn't even able to fight him. I just stood there like a Youngling and let him take my weapon. What is the _matter_ with me?_

She felt something in her cloak. _What is this? _she wrapped her fingers around it and pulled it out. It was a homing beacon. _What luck! _she looked toward the door to make sure nobody was coming. No one was. With one little movement her thumb rested on the button and pressed it down, hard. A little red light began to blink. She just hoped someone would follow the signal in time.

* * *

When Grievous finished his proclamation he no longer had anything to do. He surely wasn't going to stay with the Chancellor. Palpatine was making himself annoying by shooting off insults at the droid General every chance he got. If Grievous stayed with that pathetic politician much longer he might forget his orders and smash ol' Palpy's face in. That whole idea was out of the question. _It wouldn't sit well with my superiors anyway..._

Maybe it was his old mortal feelings catching up with him but he found he was longing for some company.. some living breathing _female _company. _It couldn't hurt..._

Making his way to a lift he stepped inside and pressed the button for the floor that housed the briefing room...

* * *

Shaak Ti heard the door open and looked up. She saw General Grievous standing in the doorway, staring over at her. Instantly her hand gripped the small homing beacon tighter. _What does _he_ want? _she wondered. _I hope he doesn't see what I have.._

The General walked into the room and the door shut behind him. As he came near her she got out of her chair and began to back away from him. "What do you want?" she demanded, her expression hard an unreadable.

"I just wanted some company," he said honestly, staring at her face as she circled around the table away from him.

The female Jedi was surprised by his words. "Company?" she asked. "If you want company why don't you just be with the rest of your droids?"

Grievous chuckled but wound up coughing instead. She froze. She'd never heard him make that sound before. _Is he all right?_

The General quickly regained his composure and started for her again. She saw a strange look in his almost human eyes. A strange dark emotion that really shouldn't be there.

Lust.

"I wanted some living company," he replied putting his hands behind his back. "Female. Someone I could have a conversation with. Someone with feelings..."

"Feelings?" she asked no longer avoiding him. "You are incapable of feelings. You do not even know the meaning of the word, General. _You_ don't know what feelings _are."_

Instantly he was at her. "That shows what little you understand," he snarled, storming toward her. "But if you think you're so good at feelings, _Jedi female," _his hand clamped on the sleeve of her Jedi cloak. "Why don't you teach me these feelings?"

Taken aback Shaak Ti acted out of instinct. She clambered away from him. There was no way she was going to teach him the feelings he wanted her to.

_**Riiiiiiiiiip!**_

The Togruta looked back. Grievous now held her ripped cloak. The cyborg stared at it stupidly for a moment then flung it aside. He came at her again.

She backed away from him until her behind bumped into a wall. A yelp escaped her throat. She could go no further. She was trapped.

"You say I'm incapable of feelings?" he said looming over her. "Yet you, a Jedi, are taught not to know what feelings are by pretending they are not there. You who understand very little about feelings think you can judge me. You don't even know what I have been through... What I have lost..."

"Lost?" she asked totally surprise by this new revelation. "How can a droid lose anything?"

"I'm no droid!" he yelled, grabbing her shoulder painfully. "I used to be a living, breathing, _feeling _creature just like you."

"You were?" she asked staring at him in disbelief.

He nodded, he seemed to be less angry by then. "I used to have a life, children, friends, wives, anything a mortal could ever ask for but that was all taken from me by a..." he looked away. "Shuttle crash.."

"Sh..shuttle crash?"

"Yes," he said now totally calm. "I lost everything after that including most of my old body. So don't you _ever_ tell me that I am incapable of feelings, female!"

Her eyes held compassion. "I.. I'm sorry," she said slowly.

Then there was a pause. Shaak Ti felt Grievous' metallic hand playing up and down her spine. She didn't like the feeling it gave her. She sank downward trying to escape his gaze.

Grievous pulled her back up. He wasn't finished talking yet. "So, Jedi, now that you know what happened to me you cannot judge," he said, his left hand resting under her chin. "And you can probably understand why I want your company now."

Shaak Ti had to get away. She looked around for something to get him away from her. She saw an object lying on the oval table. _It could work. _

With a Force flick of her fingers she brought it across the room and smashed it against Grievous' head.

"GAH!" he grunted letting her go and grabbing his head in pain.

Shaak Ti wiggled away from him and dodged a blow from his fist as she ran from the cyborg on all fours.

Enraged Grievous went after her and tried to kick her. She jumped to her feet and Force Jumped out of the way. She flicked her fingers and one of his lightsabers careened out of his cloak and into her hand.

She came at him with it but he grabbed her wrist. "You lose," he said smashing her against the wall.

The two stood there frozen in their spots for a few moments, staring each other in the eyes and breathing heavily, then Grievous noticed something in her right hand. Instantly he pride her fingers open and ripped it out of her hand. He stared at it a moment. "A homing beacon," he said. He looked back at her. "I could make good use of this."

He thrust her to the floor and threw her cloak back at her. "Put that back on," he ordered.

Trembling, she did what she was told. When she was done he grabbed her arm and drug her to the door.

"Where are we going?" she asked, wincing.

He looked down at her. "To meet your friends," he said.

"What are you going to do to me?"

"If it comes to it I'll kill you."

_A/N_

_Well that was a long chapter. I hope it was okay. I tried to make them act the way they should but I don't have much of an idea how Shaak Ti acts. I hope I'm not screwing her up too much. :sweatdrop: Anyway I was wondering when I wrote this chapter. "How the hell did all those droids and stuff end up in that one place so conveniently?" (the deleted scene. They were all just standing there like they were waiting for something) so this is a guess. In case you might also be wondering I'm trying not to get Shaak Ti killed in that part but I can't quite figure out how I'm going to do it. I have an idea but it's kinda weird. :shrug: I'll think of something better I hope. Could you help me out a bit? _


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Grievous, Shaak Ti, and a whole bunch of droids as well as two Magna Guards walked down the corridor following the signal from Shaak Ti's homing beacon.

"We're getting closer," Grievous said, staring at it. "They'll be here soon."

Grievous pulled Shaak Ti ahead of him and rested his head on her shoulders. "Sit down, Jedi," he ordered, pushing on her shoulders.

Slowly she sank to the floor. She crossed her legs and rested her hands on the skirt of her dress.

Grievous followed her down and stroked her shoulders. "Remember what I said," he whispered into her right ear. "If it comes to it I _will _kill you. I won't lose anything if you die.."

She closed her eyes and nodded. "I understand," she said.

"Good." he stopped stroking her and retracted his head.

She lowered her own and closed her eyes to stop unexpected tears. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this," she said to him slowly. "I was hoping to..."

"To what?" he demanded.

"I was hoping I'd get to ask you something..."

"What?"

She shook her head. "It's too late now but, General, do you really want to kill me?"

He stared down at the back of her head saying nothing.

"I know you have feelings. You said you did. You hate Jedi yet... please at least show some compassion. If you were unarmed like before I wouldn't kill you. Can't you do the same?" a tear rolled down her cheek. "Please...?"

She heard him pull a lightsaber out of his cloak and lowered her head farther. He had made his decision. She felt anguish in the Force. Anguish she could have healed any time. _I wish I could have done something, _she thought. _I don't want to die now..._

She heard the sound of footsteps coming forward. Someone was coming. _A Jedi? Maybe someone who can help me..._

The footsteps stopped. A young voice said. "Shaak Ti.'

The Togruta woman looked up. She saw Anakin Skywalker and his Master Obi-Wan Kenobi standing in front of her.

"I'm sorry, General Kenobi," she said. "I failed."

Shaak Ti's nose and ears were overwhelmed by the sound of thunder and the smell of ozone. Her own lightsaber floated mere inches from her neck, with a flick of the wrist Grievous could sever her head from her body. His free mechanical hand stroked her montrals so tenderly it sent a shiver down her spine. _Stars! _she thought as her breath caught in her throat. _I'm going to die!_

"General Kenobi," the cyborg chuckled. "And Skywalker."

"General Grievous," the younger Jedi said, his rage showing slightly though he tried to control it. "Surrender Shaak Ti and Palpatine and you will die humanly."

"Jedi scum," he growled. "You seem to misinterpret your situation."

The General's droids cocked their rifles.

What happened next was too fast for Shaak Ti to comprehend. Anakin pulled one of the blasters to his hand and fired at Grievous' head. The cyborg was forced to lite the saber and deflect the blast. Then, invisible hands wrapped around Shaak Ti's waist and she was pulled into Obi-Wan's awaiting arms.

"Kill them," General Grievous roared.

All the droids opened fire.

Obi-Wan blocked blaster bolts with his lightsaber. He looked down at Shaak Ti who seemed to be in shock. "Are you all right?" he asked his azure eyes full of concern.

"Yes, I think so," she said as he helped her to her feet. "He didn't hurt me."

Obi-Wan looked surprised by this but all he said was. "That's good." he blocked more bolts. "Now, can you tell us where the Chancellor is?"

"I don't know," she replied shaking her head as he gently pushed her behind him. "But I have an idea."

Anakin decapitated a battle droid. "Show us!" he instructed.

"That way!" she said pointing.

The three ran back down the hall. Anakin and Kenobi blocked blaster bolts.

"AFTER THEM!" Grievous screamed instantly giving chase. "Do not let them get to the Chancellor!"

The droids opened fire once more. Suddenly a blaster bolt, that Obi-Wan lightsaber had missed, ripped through Shaak Ti's left shoulder. She cried out in pain and grabbed her wound.

"Shaak Ti!" Obi-Wan exclaimed, looking back at her. "Are you all right?"

Before she could answer a metallic hand clamped onto her wrist and ripped her out of Kenobi's grip. She screamed as she was jerked roughly backward. The next instant her head bashed into the wall and she fell to the floor unconscious.

* * *

"Shaak Ti!" Anankin gasped as he and Obi-Wan stopped and turned to her body. She didn't move. "She's dead!" Anakin shouted angrily.

Instantly they had to pull out their lightsabers to block blows from Grievous who had chased after them. "This ends here, Jedi scum!" he yelled.

"You killed her!" Anakin screamed in rage.

"As is her due!" the cyborg growled.

Obi-Wan stared, still remembering why they had come, said to Anakin. "I think it's time we take our leave."

Anakin looked at him, not exactly sure what he just said. "What about Shaak Ti?"

Obi-Wan looked at the Togruta again and shook his head. "There's nothing we can do for her now."

Suddenly he Force pushed Grievous back down the hall. Grievous smashed into his army, who had followed him, and quickly got to his feet. He began to bark an order but Anakin and Obi-Wan suddenly cut a hole in the floor and disappeared.

"Damn it!" he screamed then turned to his droids. He gave out a few orders then stalked down the hall to the bridge, forgetting about Shaak Ti for the time being.

* * *

The rocking of the ship brought Shaak Ti around a short time later. As she pushed herself into a sitting position her head began to hurt and so did her shoulder. Moaning, she put her hand over her wound and felt it had burned shut for the time being. _What? Am I... alive?_

She painstakingly pushed herself into a standing position. The Force filled with disturbances. Something was wrong somewhere. _I have to find out what, _she thought, stumbling down the rocking hall. _I have to find out what's going on..._

* * *

As Anakin and Obi-Wan destroyed all of Grievous' droids on the bridge the cyborg realized he was out of time. He had to get out of there. If he didn't do something quick it was all over for him.

Jumping down from the control platform he grabbed an electrastaff off the floor and righted himself. Obi-Wan jumped in front of him and he heard Anakin sneaking up from behind.

As they moved in to corner him he lifted the staff, but not to fight with it. He still had one trick left. Turning to the window, he shouted. "You lose, General Kenobi!" then threw the activated staff at it.

Instantly the window burst. As the glass shattered the cyborg was sucked out. Twisting around he aimed his hand back at the ship and shot a magnetic hook at it. The hook caught and he was reeled in. When his magnetized feet touched the hull he dashed to the other side.

A hatch opened and he jumped back inside. He hung there a moment, his cape flapping in the fast rushing out air, looking for more Jedi he didn't know about. Seeing none, he let go and dropped onto the floor. Grievous landed safely in the hall. He righted himself and dashed down the corridor toward the escape pods.

* * *

Shaak Ti was also making her way toward that area. Only she didn't know what was going on. She was lost. _The Chancellor, _she thought as she stumbled down the hall. _I must find the Chancellor. _She leaned against a wall to breathe. _Where is the Chancellor? Why is this ship rocking so much? What's happening?_

**SLAM!**

A hand smacked into the wall inches from her head. Startled, Shaak Ti opened her eyes and found herself staring into the reptilian ones of General Grievous. "General!" she gasped. "How did you..?'

Grievous was in a hurry. "This is _your_ fault!" he snarled glaring at her. "Thanks to your homing beacon my ship is coming apart!"

"My... huh?" she was confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Nevermind." he was in a rush. The cyborg tapped out a code in the wall near her head and a door she hadn't been aware of opened. "Get in there!" he ordered.

The Togruta looked where he indicated. A small, metallic room. "An escape pod?" she asked looking back up at him. "With you..?"

Grievous had to time for this. "Just get in there!" he yelled grabbing her arm and shoving her inside.

Shaak Ti fell against the back wall just below a small round window. As she pushed herself into a sitting position Grievous clambered inside. He sat down and looked at the controls. 'Time to abandon ship," he said, pushing a button.

The door closed and shot away from the ship. Grievous looked out the window and growled angrily when he saw the _Invisable Hand, _his pride and joy, go careening toward Coruscant's atmoshere.

Shaak Ti huddled under the window and didn't dare move. She saw he was in a dangerously bad mood for some reason. She didn't move or speak, fearing if she did he'd hurt her to vent his rage. A soft moan escaped her lips none the less as the rocking of the tiny ship made her wound hurt again. Gasping, she covered her mouth with her hands and hoped he hadn't heard her.

If he did he didn't show it. He stayed looking out that window wheezing and coughing every once in awhile for some reason.

* * *

The ship was soon joined by another. The escape pod connected to the smaller ship. When the door opened a bunch of battle droids stood on the other side. When they saw the Jedi woman they aimed their weapons at her.

Grievous' fist slammed into the lead droid and smashed it to bits. "Hurt the Jedi and I'll dismember you all!" he growled, in no mood for this sort of thing right now.

"What should we do with her?" one asked just to know.

Grievous grabbed the woman's arm and jerked her to her feet. "Make sure she's comfortable," he instructed, digging his clawed hand into her arm till she let out a yelp. Satisfied with that he threw her into them. "And be nice!'

One droid, after getting out from under her, told Shaak Ti to sit down in one of the seats. She did then watched as Grievous sat down in the back and glared at everyone as the ship went into hyperspace jump.

After an hour of silence she was brazen enough to ask the General. "Where are we going?"

At that same instant the ship slowed to normal travel. Grievous pointed out the windshield. She looked toward it. She saw a strange green and brown planet looming in front of the ship.

"Now you have you answer, female," Grievous said standing up and perching beside her seat. She sunk down lower, intimidated by his size. Grievous waved a hand at the planet. "Jedi Master Shaak Ti, welcome to Utapua."

_A/N_

_First I want to thank Conrad Wolf for helping me out at a certain part in this chapter. His idea really helped me out. Thanks Conrad! You might think I am weird for writing some stuff in here but you'll understand the meaning later. Can you wait? Anyway I don't like the idea of Grievous calling Shaak Ti 'Jedi scum' so I (Thanks to someone else who used the word first) decided he should call her 'female' I just wanted to point that out to anyone who might be wondering why he keeps calling her that. One more thing. The reason Shaak Ti has no idea why the breaking up of the ship her her fault is because when she hit her head she got a very mild case of amnesia. This means she forgot anything told to her after they left the train car in chapter one. _


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

"Utapau?" Shaak Ti asked in horror. "What are we doing here?"

"That you don't need to know," Grievous informed her as the ship entered the planet's atmosphere. "Just be happy I'm letting you live."

Just then one of the droids informed him about an incoming message.

"I'll take it when we land," he told the droid. "In the meantime make sure our _guest _in comfortable."

"Roger."

The ship landed a few minutes later. Grievous stood up and coughed. ""Okay, let's go." he headed outside.

As Shaak Ti was led out of the ship she saw Grievous headed quickly into another area of the sinkhole. _I wonder who the message is from, _she thought as the droids led her away.

The droids took her to an area in the caverns that looked like it might belong to Grievous. The droid opened the door and pushed her inside. The door closed behind her as the droid left the room.

Now she was alone. Shaak Ti looked around the room. She spotted a chair, a huge computer, a small couch like thing that looked like it could also be a bed, and a small cavern areaoff to the left that looked like it might be another room. Slowly she walked forward. She spotted something resting on a rock shelf like thing near the chair. She picked it up and stared at it.

It was a picture. A picture of a happy family of some sort. A closer looked told her it was a family of Kaleesh. A smiling father, three wives, all beautiful, and about fourteen children. The father held a lovely daughter in his arms and his gentle golden eyes were fixed lovingly on the child.

_What is this? _she thought. _Why does Grievous have a picture of a family? Why would a droid have a picture of a family? _she stared at the father's eyes. _Why do these eyes look so familiar...?_

Just then she heard the door open. She instantly turned around. General Grievous stepped into the room.

"What are you doing?" he demanded as he walked up to her.

"I...umm...," she stammered feeling guilty about something.

Grievous snatched the picture out of her hand. "What are you doing with this?" he demanded looking at it then back up at her.

"Nothing," she replied looking up at him. "I was just looking at it."

"Well, don'tt," he snarled shaking the picture in her face. "I don't want you touching this, understand? Don't touch it! Don't _ever _touch it!"

He took another step toward her threateningly. Shaak Ti backed away and fell into his chair. "Oh!" she gasped.

Grievous turned away from her just then. She saw him stare at the picture for a minute then place it gently back on the shelf.

"I... I'm sorry," she said softly.

The cyborg ignored her. He turned away and headed into the small room on the left side of the bigger one they were in now.

When he was gone she sighed in relief and looked back the picture again. This time she dared not touch it. _Why did he get so upset about a picture?_

_

* * *

_

General Grievous closed the door once he was safely inside the other room. He stared at a small glass mirror that held his nightmarish reflection. After staring at himself for a minute he slowly, very slowly, reached up and gently removed his mask.

Now the scarred and fire blackened remains of a great warrior stared back at him. A full grown male Kaleesh. Half lizard like. Half humaniod. Whatever patches of skin could be seen were a mottled deathly pale red, almost white. Only the skin around his eyes held his origanal color. His golden eyes held a living spark of his old self but nothing more. The old Grievous was gone.

Sighing he leaned his face against the glass. Just now he realized how tired he was. Though he never slept he had other ways of regaining his energy. Mostly by transe like states.

Grievous sat down on the floor. He tried to do it now but he mind just wouldn't let him. While the living part of his brain screamed for rest the computer part made him restless. It just kept on focusing on the new mission and _orders._

_I'll do it later, _he told himself. _Just let me relax for a few minutes... please!_

Gradually the computer shut down. Now only the living part of his brain was awake. It slowly turned off as well. As it did it kept on making his mind go off in different directions.

But they all ended up on the same subject at the end. A certain Togruta woman who was a Jedi but also a woman and also very beautiful.

The General didn't know when these strange feelings for Shaak Ti had surfaced. It might have been during his fight with her over two and a half years ago or it might have come on gradually over time. Either way they had come. Why, he did not know. Maybe it came from his old mortal nature.

The need for a companion. A _female _companion. He thought his feelings for woman had ended with his first life. He had been wrong.

_But why a Jedi? _he often asked himself. _Why her?_

He didn't know and he really didn't want to know. So he hid it. He hid it under ruthlessness, and anger, and hate... yet... it was still there.. taunting him.

* * *

Shaak Ti's wounded shoulder was hurting again. When she put her hand over it she felt her fingers get wet and sticky. She realized that the blood veins that had burned shut had opened and were bleeding, staining her Jedi robes.

_I have to find something to stop this, _she thought, getting out of the chair and searching the room. _I have to find some bacta or something... _She got on her hands and knees and began searching all the lower shelves. _There has to be a medical kit around here somewhere._

Suddenly a strange smell reached her nostrols. _What is that? _she thought sitting up. She sniffed the air again. _Is that... inscense? Who would be burning inscense here? Is someone meditating or.. praying?_

She looked toward the other room. _Is it coming from there? _she wondered. _Is _he _praying?_

She stood up and started walking toward the room. Her curiosity had won.

* * *

Grievous came out of his trance rather quickly. He wasn't ready to get up just yet but a sound in the main room had roused him. Quickly the cyborg snuffed out the inscense he'd lit and out his mask back on. Getting up he headed to the door . When it opened he nearly collided with Shaak Ti who stood on the other side looking ready to go in.

"What are you doing?" he demanded glaring down at her.

She stepped back. "Um... I was... looking for something to put on my wound," she replied clutching her left shoulder.

His golden eyes locked on her wound. The red blood was obsorbing into her brown robe making it look wet and sticky. He did not want her bleeding on the floor. He had to do something before that happened.

Grievous pushed her back onto the couch. "Stay there," he ordered.

She did as she was told. She didn't want to cause him too much trouble.

Grievous turned away from her and reached onto a higher shelf. He pulled something off of it. A medical kit.

As he walked back toward her, he said pointing at her bloody robe. "Take that off."

She froze. She wasn't sure she wanted him to touch her. "I'll do it myself, thank you," she said putting out her hand.

Grievous stormed over to her. He reached out a hand and grabbed her robe, pulling her face close to his. She tried to lean back. He snarled. "I don't have time for you pettiness, female! Now take that off before I _rip _it off!"

He let her go. She contined to stare at him as she slowly peeled off her bloody robe. It slid to the floor. Now that that was gone she felt very vunerable for some reason. (She is still wearing clothes! Just felt I needed to point that out for you all)

"Thank you," he said grabbing her arm and spraying the foamy stuff on her wound. "Now that wasn't so hard was it?"

She shook her head.

When he was done he pushed on her chest until she was lying down. She tried to fight him off but was unsuccesful.

"LIE DOWN!" he yelled looking ready to slam her down a few times to get his point across. "And don't get up until I tell you to!"

She stopped fighting and did what he told her to do. If she hadn't he probably would have kill her.

"There," he said seemingly satisfied at their progress. "See how easily we are getting along?"

She didn't reply.

He turned away from her. "Now stay there and get some rest," he instructed, putting his hands behind his back as he walked away.

_A/N_

_Incase you might be wondering about a few things I'll try my best to explain. Like I said before Shaak Ti has a slight case of amnesia ad that's why she was wondering about that picture. I put the picture there because he had a family and I figured he'd want something left of them to remember them by (since most of them are dead). His room was fully furnished when he got it that's why most of the stuff is in there. I know very little about his religion so I had to guess. Don't even ask why the droids took her to his room! I don't know I was just being creative! I can't think of anything else to put so that's it for now. Hope you enjoyed it. _


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

_Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale..._

Shaak Ti lay on the couch in deep meditation.

_Inhale... Exhale..._

As her mind cleared of thoughts she felt the Force envelope her mind.

_Inhale..._

She felt a presense coming toward her in the Force.

_Exhale..._

The presense gave off a friendly aura.

_"Master Shaak Ti?"_

_Who are you?_

_"It's me.."_

A face appeared and she saw who it was.

_Qui-Gon Jinn?_

_"Yes."_

_Why did you come to speak with me?_

_"I have to ask you something."_  
_What is it that you must ask me?_

_"Will you help General Grievous?"_

_What? Help Grievous! But he's..._

_"Only a pawn. You must help him."_

_How?_

_"Keep him from dying."_

_What do you mean?_

_"Keep General Grievous from dying."_

_I don't understand._

_"You'll understand when the time comes."  
How?_

_"You'll feel it."_

_But.._

_"When you feel a great disturbance in the Force you must use it like you have never done before."_ (He means the Force)

_What do you mean?_

_"You have to make him _panic

_Panic? Grievous? But he's a droid. He _can't_ panic!_

_"No, he's not."_

_Huh?_

_"He's not a droid."_

_How do you know that?_

_"You'll find out in time."_

_But.._

Shaak Ti felt Qui-Gon's energy beginning to fade_. "Just promise me you'll save his life."_

_But..._

_"Promise,"_ he said again this time with more force.

_I promise..._

She felt the Force around her relax a little at these words _"Thank you, Shaak Ti. Now I must go. Good bye, my friend."_

_But Qui-Gon, wait!'_

Too late. His presense vanished back into the Force.

* * *

Something roased Shaak Ti awhile later. As she came around she became aware of the sound of someone pounding on the door of General Grievous' chambers.

She opened her eyes and looked over at the cyborg who hadn't made one move to answer it. "Aren't you going to answer that?" she asked.

Grievous' head snapped in her direction. "No," he said. "I don't feel like it right now."

"But..."

"No! and don't you dare do it!"

"Why not?"

His eyes said more than his mouth. "If you did, Jedi, I would have to do one of two things; Kill you right now and say you were trying to assasinate me or try to explain what you are doing here without having to kill you. You're the Jedi and I figured out the answer."

Shaak Ti said nothing.

"Go away!" Grievous yelled at whoever was still knocking. "I don't want to talk to anyone right now!"

"But, General," whined a voice , it sounded like Viceroy Nute Gunray, on the other side. "It is of great importance!"

"I don't care! Talk to me about it later!"

"But-"

"I'm busy right now!"

"What could _you _possibly doing at this time of day?"

"Nothing that is of any concern to you, Viceroy!"

"You're lying."

"I am not."

"Then open this door so I can see what you are doing."

"I don't have to show you anything, Gunray!"

"I would advice you to. If you refuse to show me what you're doing it must mean you're doing something you shouldn't be doing," came the reply.

"Mind your own business!"

"Let me in!"

Grievous couldn't stand it any longer. If he didn't do what the little coward wanted him to do he'd just keep on bothering him. (Nute Gunray not Grievous) Turning his head toward Shaak Ti he ordered. "Go in there and don't come out until I say you can!" he pointed to the other room.

The Jedi woman didn't move.

Grievous didn't have time for this. Getting up he walked over to her and grabbed her arm, pulling her roughly to her feet. She nearly cried out at the pain of his clawed fingers digging into her rose colored flesh but held it in, not wanting him to take out anymore of his furry on her. With a rough jerk he thrust her into the other room and hissed as the door closed. "Stay in there and don't make a sound!"

When he recived no reply he turned away from the door and muttered. "You should have listened, female. I don't have time for your games right now."

He headed for the door. _Now to deal with Gunray. _

Grievous walked up to the door and pushed the button thing that unlocked and opened it. The door slid open sideways and the General faced Viceroy Nute Gunray.

"Finally," the whiny Neimodian said.

Grievous was agrivated. "What do you want?" he demanded.

Gunray looked up at the cyborg's face and folded his arms as he said. "I was informed by one of your guards that you brought a preticular guest with you when you arrived here." the Niemodian's face changed slightly. He looked smug. "A _female _guest."

Grievous glared at the Viceroy. _My guards sure have big mouths latey, _he thought. _I wonder if they were somehow programmed to spy on me. _"Do you see any females here?" he demanded.

Gunray tried to peek past the cyborg. "I don't know. I can'tt see past your big frame, General," he said. "Would you kindly move?"

The former Kaleesh General growled angrily but did move out of the way so the Neimodian could see into the apartment. Nute Gunray barged inside and began looking around. "Hmmm," he said, his rose colored eyes scanning the room.

"When you don't find anything I want you to leave," Girevous said putting his hands behind his back as he leaned slightly against the door frame.

Gunray, having seen nothing so far that would be questionable, turned his attention on the door to the other room. "What's in there?" he demanded

"You're not allowed in there," Grievous informed him.

"Why not?"

"Because there's a huge mess in there," the General replied flatly. "If you open the door everything will fall on top of you."

Gnray digested this information and changed his mind about the room. He didn not want garbage falling on top of him and messing up his regal robes. "Fine," he said.

He was about to leave when he spotted something on the floor by the couch. Walking over to it he leaned down and picked it up. He examied in for a moment. He discovered it was a ripped dark brown robe with hardened blood patches on it.

"What is this?" he demanded turning to Grievous.

"It's mine," the General replied.

Gunray spread out the robe and stared at it for a moment. "Since when do you cross dress?" he asked. He pointed to the cloth. "This belongs to a female."

Grievous made a grab for the cloth. "Give me that," he ordered.

The Neimodian held it back. "Not until you tell me where you go it," he retorted. His little bug mind came to a swift conclusion. "You're doing things you shouldn't, aren't you?"

Grievous, not liking his privacy dug into, swung at Gunray. The cowardly Neimodian dodged the blow. "So you _are _hiding something!" he exclaimed sounding triumphant.

"Only my temper!" Grievous yelled grabbing the robe and ripping it out of Gunray's webbed green hand. "Now get out of here before I smash that whiny thing you call a face!"

Gunray didn't stick around. He got out of there as fast as his legs could carry him.

When he was gone and the door shut behind him Grievous stormed over to the door of the other room and opened it. Shaak Ti, who'd been leaning against the door, tumbled into him. He grabbed her arm and jerked her back. He forced her to look up at him./"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" he demanded.

"Did what on purpose?" she asked, not knowing what he was talking about.

He shoved the ripped robe into her face. "Left this out where he could see it!" he replied shaking it. "You _wanted_ him to see it didn't you?"

"No," she stammered. "I forgot about it."

"Don't lie to me!" he snarled his eyes full of rage.

"I'm not!"

Grievous slapped her across the face. She fell to the floor and looked up at him, holding her hand over her cheek.

"Make another mistake like that and I will kill you," he threatened feining a kick at her. "Do you understand?"

She glared up at him. "Yes, perfectly," she replied trying her best to hold in her own anger.

"Good," he said sounding satisfied.

_A/N_

_I hope this chapter was okay. I tried my best to make it as Star Wars ish as I could but I couldn't avoid putting a few things in here. I hope you all didn't mind too much. I have no idea if Neimodians have webbed fingers..._


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

Grievous sat in his chair looking at the picture Shaak Ti had seen. The picture always made him feel lonely, Made him long for his wives or some other female compainionship. He closed his eyes a minute and rested his masked face against the frame.

After a moment he lowered the picture and looked over at the now sleeping Shaak Ti. For the first time since his first encounter with her he just sat there and really studied her. Her rose red skin, the white around her eyes, even her stripped _lekku. _Her lips were a pinkish color. Her mouth was curved in a tiny sleepy smile.

_Like a rose at sunrise... _Or in other words he thought she was beautiful.

_I still remember the world  
From the eyes of a child  
Slowly those feelings  
Were clouded by what I know now_

Getting up he walked over the the couch and stood over her sleeping form. For a few minutes he just watched her breathe. Staring at her made him suddenly long for his old feelings and senses. He didn't know why but he wanted to touch her.

Slowly, very slowly, he reached his hand out and rested it on her side (She was sleeping sideways). She didn't respond to his touch so he relaxed a little. Very gently he caressed her arm. He heard her sigh and her smile got a little bigger.

_I wonder what she's dreaming about..._

He stopped stroaking her and stepped away putting his hands behind his back as he did so. He stared at her a little longer then walked over to the door. It opened up when he got near it and he walked out.

It was time to put her out of his mind for a few minutes. He had something else he needed to do.

_Where has my heart gone  
Trapped in the eyes of a stranger  
I want to go back to  
Believing in everything_

* * *

Shaak Ti woke up to an empty room. "Grievous?" she said sitting up and looking around. "General Grievous?"

No replys from anywhere, not even the other room.

She got off the couch. _The other room... _when he'd thrown her into it she'd been so bent on getting out she hadn't paid much attention to what was inside. All she could remember was the faintest trace of incense in the air.

Maybe now, since Grievous was gone for the moment, she could see what else was inside. Making that descition she headed for the room and stepped inside. When she was insided she stood in the doorway a moment and just stared. She didn't see much furniture in the room, only a hand woven cloth rug on the floor. She looked around the walls. They were almost bare except for a mirror...

Wait... a mirror?

_I still remember the sun  
Always warm on my back  
Somehow it seems colder now_

She walked up to the mirror. _Why does Grievous have a mirror? _she wondered staring at her own reflection for a few minutes. _Does he look at his own reflection? I thought droids didn't think like that..._

She took a step inside. Her boots kicked something on the floor. She looked down at her feet. She saw what looked like a bone incense holder.

_So he _was _burning incense, _she thought leaning down and picking it up. _Why do I get the feeling Grievous isn't just any droid? Why do I get the feeling I'm forgetting something...? _she remembered the picture she'd seen.

The family. The wives and children and the one salitary father... the father with the familiar eyes... golden eyes...

_Golden eyes! Just like General Grievous! Wait! A droid wouldn't have a picture of a family... unless.. _Now it was becoming clear to her again. _Grievous isn't a droid! He's something else!_

She dropped the burner and ran back into the other room. She spotted the picture by the big chair and picked it up. She stared at the faces smiling back at her. _He used to be a living creature. He might still be one. One that lives within that body. He's a cyborg... But... _her eyes closed halfway and unexpected tears came to her eyes. _How did he get this way? What happened to him? Why did it happen?_

She suddenly felt sorry for him. She closed her eyes as she finally understood some things. "So _this _is what Qui-Gon Jinn ment," she said out loud, tears she wanted to hold back falling out of her eyes, rolling down her cheeks and spilling on the picture frame like raindrops. "But how had he known?'

Slowly she sank into Grievous chair. She was suddenly remembering something Grievous had said to her awhile ago. A conversation on the _Invisable Hnad. _

_"I used to be a living, breathing, _feeling _creature like you," _he'd said. _"I used to have a life, children, friends, wives, _anything _a mortal could ask for but that was all taken from me by a... shuttle crash..."_

How had she forgotten him telling her? probably because she was so focused on what _else_ he'd been doing then. Running his hand up and down her back. _That _had been a living gesture, just like when he's stroaked her _lekku. _Was he actually longing for someone's love and... companionship? Did he actually miss his family and friends on Kalee? Were they even still alive?

_Where has my heart gone  
An uneven trade for the real world  
I want to go back to  
Believing in everything and knowing nothing at all_

_If I live through this maybe I'll go to Kalee and find out... _Then another thought came to her. _If _Grievous _lives to see the end of this war will he be willing to go with me?_

_

* * *

_

Grievous returned to his room awhile later. He wasn't staying long because he had to round up the Seperatists and tell them where they were going next. He'd only came back to collect some of his lightsabers anyway and maybe... have some words with that female Jedi...

That ws not to be, for when he stepped inside he spotted her sitting in his chair _looking at that picture again!_

"Hey!" he yelled at her. "What are you doing? I told you not to touch that!"

Shaak Ti looked up starled. She saw him storm over to her. She didn't have time to react or move out of his reach. He grabbed her arm and yanked her to her feet. She cried out in pain.

_Where has my heart gone  
An uneven trade for the real world  
I want to go back to  
Believing in everything  
Away..._

"Don't you understand Basic, female?" he demanded, shaking her. "What is the matter with you!"

"I... I...," she stammered. "I'm sorry!"

"No, you're not!" he yelled. "You Jedi _never_ are! You think your actions are always done for someone's own good! Jedi wench!"

"But I didn't!' she tried again.

"Shut up!" he yelled punching her in the side of the head.

The Force of the blow was so great that it sent the Togruta flying across the room. She slammed hard into the wall then slumped onto the floor. She didn't move or get back up.

_Where has my heart gone  
Trapped in the eyes of a stranger  
I want to go back to  
Believing in everything_

Unexpectantly, Grievous suddenly felt bad for doing that to her. _I hope I haven't kill her! _was the first thing that went through his mind though he didn't know why he was so worried about a _Jedi. _He walked over to her body.

Leaning down, just to be sure, he saw that she wasn't dead. Her chest was moving up and down regularly. Relieved he didn't bother moving her. He let her lie there as he straightened back up. Suddenly he was consumed by a loud fit of coughs.

"What is wrong with me?" he asked out loud angered by this stupid problem he'd been having. "How did my lungs get so bad?"

He stood in one place until he got ahold of himself. Once the coughs subsided he cleared his throat and strode out of the room, realizing he still had a few things to do before he had to collect those damned Seperatists.

_I can't wait to finallly be rid of them... for good!_

_I still remember..._

_A/N_

_I am not very happy how this chapter turned out but I can't do anything about it right now. I might edit some of the stuff in here later but I don't have the time right now. Someone said to me that there was no action in the last chapter... well.. the chapter after this one will have some action. Can you wait for that? _

_Oh. **Field of Innocense **is copyright to Evanescense. I do not own the song and I have no money. _


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

Shakk Ti came to awhile later. As she sat up she discovered she was still on the floor and the whole left side of her face hurt. She looked around. No Grievous. She didn't know where he was and didn't care. She had to get out of there. He'd hurt her enough. She couldn't stay any longer no matter how she felt about him.

Getting off the floor she stood and smoothed out her clothes. Her dark purple eyes scanned the shelves in the room for a potental weapon. They stopped on a lightsaber handle lying in full view on a shelf on the center wall of the room.

_How had I missed this? _she wondered, making her way over to it.

When she reached the shelf she grabbed the weapon and activated it to make sure it was working. A green rod of light shot out of the handle. It wasn't her favorite color, she perfered blue, but it would do.

Deactiavting it she clipped it to her belt and headed over to the door. _I hope it's not locked, _she prayed. _If it is I'll have to cut it open and risk being seen..._

She need not have worried. As soon as she got close to the door it opened right away. Sighing in relief, the Togruta Jedi slipped out of the room and quickly yet quietly made her way down the corridor.

* * *

General Grievous never liked Neimodians. He considered them disgusting and smelly. What he hated most about them was their skin, which tended to change colored depending on their moods. But what he hated _more_ than that was their ability to say the wrong thing at the wrong time.

Like now for instance. Grievous had been pacing infront of the Seperatists and telling them about their relocation when that annoying Nute Gunray had the boldness to question the cyborg on his ability to keep them save.

Grievous could care less if they were safe or not. He just wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible and the Viceroy was just prolonging that by asking stupid questions.

"Be thankful, Viceroy, that you haven't found _yourself _in my grip," was his annoyed answer as he glared at the Neimodian who cowered under his piercing gaze.

The meeting didn't last very long after that. When he was done talking the General turned away from them and said. "Your ship is waiting."

Now that _that_ was over Grievous realized he wasn't feeling very well. He coughed again and began to leave. Something didn't seem right and it made him want to return to his room and just rest for a few minutes... Until that annoying General Obi-Wan Kenboi seemed to come out of knowhere and say in that obnoxiously over polite voice of his. "Hello there."

Grievous was taken by surprise by this at first as he turned to face the Jedi but chose not to show it. All he said was. "General Kenobi, you _are_ a bold one."

The General's MagneGuards stepped protectively infront of him and activated their electrastaffs. A bunch of droids also suround the Jedi but Obi-Wan didn't seem fazed. Infact he looked a bit smug.

_I'm gonna wipe that smile right off that snotty face of yours, Jedi Scum... _Grievous took a few steps back and ordered. "Kill him!"

The guards advanced.

Kenobi didn't even go into a fighter's stance. All he did was look up at the ceiling and use the Force to drop a huge metal thing on all three guards. As he walked past them he cut off the remaning droid's head. At that moment Grievous realized Kenobi was a big fat cheater and it incenced him. Two_ can play at that game! _he thought glaring hatefully at the short pale skinned human.

Obi-Wan came forward like a bull after a red madator cape, chopping and slicing up anything that got in his way. Within minutes he was right infront of General Grievous.

At that moment the cyborg decided now would be a good time to get rid of the pest once and for al. As the droids advanced Grievous barked an order and glared at his army as he said. "I'll deal with this Jedi slime myself!"

Immediatly the droids stopped.

"Your move," Obi-Wan said mildly.

Grievous took a step back but kept his eyes on Kenobi the whole time he did so. He slowly undid the clasp of his cape, as if he were making some sort of point out of it then reached into the pockets of his cape as it began to slide off his shoulders. "I was trained in the Jedi arts by Count Dooku," he informed the stupid Jedi as his hands clasped around four lightsaber handles.

Obi-Wan didn't look at all impressed by this bit of infoe. Infact, he looked a bit cocky.

Grievous shook off his cape revieling his entire frame (which looked smaller for some reason) and extended his arms out. He saw the Jedi's eyes fill with surprise as the two arms slip into four, activating the blades at the same time. The General laughed slightly then advanced, two of his arms spinning the two upper lightsabers like the blade of a fan.

For a second Obi-Wan looked unsure then went into a guard position.

Grievous lunged forward with the intent to kill, visions of impaling Kenobi dancing in his head, but only got air as Obi-wan jumped over him and landed on the metal floor behind him. Sencing the Jedi was about to attack, the General twisted around and parried the blow just in time.

The two fought for the next few minutes trying to get the upper hand even though it looked like Grievous was winning. The General hoped it would end that way but he discoverd something about his nemesis. Kenobi ws much faster than he'd first thought and he had a hard time keeping up with him. Suddenly, before he realized what had happened, the Jedi cut off one of his hands. Grievous' eyes filled with surprise as he stared at the sparking stump. For some reason it hurt, a lot.

This unexpected pain angered him even more and he swumg blindly at the Jedi.

Obi-Wan instantly cut off his other hand.

Grievous' eyes filled with rage as he stared at the grinning Kenobi. "I guess four _isn't_ better than one," the brown haired Jedi said in a voice so calm it almost wasn't a taunt. "How about you surrender now before I am forced to kill you, General?"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Grievous screamed running at the Jedi and slashing and chopping like crazy.

Obi-Wan, taken by surprise by the maddened General, could barely lift his blade fast enough to block the tidal wave of blows that rained down on him. The weight of the blows was so great they knocked him to the metal floor. One of Grievous' blades pierced the floor just centameters from his head.

Grievous rage died down a bit when he saw the Jedi was no longer smiling. "Not so cocky now are you?" he demeanded.

"You won't get away with this!" Obi-Wan shouted looking into the masked face of the cyborg. "You don't realized that this was just a diversion."

"What?"

Kenobi looked over Grievous shoulder. "It looks like my army has arrived," he said his face getting that cocky look again.

Grievous glared hatefully at the Jedi. He was so sick of this guy. The cyborg lifted his blade to finish Obi-wan off but a loud explosion caused him to looked toward the sky behind him. A whole pack of storm troppers came sliding down ropes and into the shuttle area.

Obi-Wan, seeing Grievous was distracted for a moment, quickly scrambled to his feet.

The General sensed this movement and turned back to Obi-Wan. He suddenly realized he was in trouble. If he were captured this war would be over and they might make him tell them know Sidious was, even though he didn't know himself. Maybe if he killed Kenobi the clones would lose their courgae...

He faced Kenobi again. "Army or not," he said making his way over to the Jedi. "You must realize that you are doomed!"

"I don't think so," Kenobi said metting the cyborg's eyes.

Suddenly the General felt himself flying backwards and upwards. His body slammed into something metal behind him. For a moment his body was paralized and he dropped his two remaining lightsabers, which clattered to the ground far below.

When gravity took over Grievous fell to a lower floor and landed on all six limbs. He looked up when he heard a noise and spotted Kenobi coming down at him. He quickly scurried away looking for a way of escape. He saw it in a large bladed wheel bike. His body twisted unnaturally as he flung himsle finto the driver's seat. His four arms morphed back into two.

Two of the three remaining fingers on his left hand played with the controls and the wheel bike sped away, spraying up pieces of metal as it went out of the hanger and down the canyon.

Almost instantly he heard a dragon roaring behind him and looked over his shoulder. He saw the Jedi riding a dragon after him. Obi-Wan had given chase.

Cursing again, the General excellerated and pulled the wheel out into space!

* * *

Shaak Ti had made her way down the twisted canyon caves in the Utapau sinkhole without being detected or stopped. Now she was finally at the very bottom and climbing over rocks to the water where she could cool her feet before she began her search for a way of escape.

Just as she sat down to rest and took off her boots to sink her toes in the water she heard a roaring sound above and looked toward the caves once again. She spotted a shiny metal thing come flying down the side of the canyon followed by a large green dragon beast. She saw the dragon's rider held a long glowing rod of blue light. _A Jedi? _she wondered staring at the light. _What is a Jedi doing here?_

Suddenly realization hit her and she stood back up. A Jedi had come because they'd somehow found out Grievous was here. _That Jedi must be chasing Grievous!_

A disturbance in the Force made her pay closer attention to where she felt them going. _This is the disturbance Qui-Gon Jinn told me about! _she instantly figured out.

_Keep Grievous from dying! _Another voice pounded in her head at the moment.

_What? Why? Should I?_

_Do it!_

Without realizing what she was doing, she reached out in the Force like she never had before. _If Qui-Gon doesn't want him dead there must be a reason.. _With great concentration and no disturbances from the outside world, Jedi Master Shaak Ti used the Force to latch her own thoughts and feelings to the heart and mind of General Grievous.

_A/N_

_I really like this chapter. It was so fun to write I tried my best to change the fight with Obi-Wan a bit but it didn't exactly turn out how I wanted it. :shrug: all well. I tried my best and that's all that counts. Right?_


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

_How can you see into my eyes like open doors  
leading you down into my core  
where I've become so numb without a soul my spirit sleeping somewhere cold  
until you find it there and lead it back home_

Grievous roared the wheel bike down within the lower depts of Utapua's caverns. He knew where he was going but he hoped Obi-Wan didn't. He hoped to lose the Jedi before he reached his destination. He still heard that dragon behind him, though. He looked over his shoulder. That cursed Kenobi was catching up!

Grievous cursed and excellerated the wheel bike. That was all he could do but it wasn't good enough. Now the wheel was going as fast as it could go. The dragon, he soon realized, was just faster.

Then, before he knew what was happening, Kenobi was riding right beside him.

_NO! _ Grievous growled in rage as he glared up at the bearded Jedi. _I don't have time for this! _Instantly the electrastaff he'd taken with his buzzed to life. He turned on Obi-Wan and began to wack at him with it. Obi-Wan cried out in pain then surprised Grievous by making a grab for the staff. A brief tug-of-war broke out which resulted in Obi-Wan taking the stick and wacking Grievous in the side of the head with it. This annoyed the General and he grabbed the staff with both hands, casing the staff and Kenobi to come to him. Grievous couldn't see it but he could feel Obi-Wan on the seat behind him.

_CRAP! This isn't good!_

Kenobi tried to get a good hold on the General to make him stop but that didn't work too well. The result was Grievous pulling out a gun and shooting everything but Obi-Wan. It was lucky for Grievous that the wheel ran into something just then and threw him and Obi-Wan off and onto the landing pad that housed Grievous' escape cruiser.

_(Wake me up)  
Wake me up inside  
(I can't wake up)  
Wake me up inside  
(Save me)  
call my name and save me from the dark  
(Wake me up)  
bid my blood to run  
(I can't wake up)  
before I come undone  
(Save me)  
save me from the nothing I've become_

Grievous had dropped the staff in the process but still had his gun. He stood up and began shooting and Kenobi. Obi-Wan got up as well, holding the staff in his right hand. He swung it mightily and knocked the gun out of Grievous' hand. It went skittering across the stone floor and then came to a stop near the cruiser.

Kenobi then began battering at the cyborg's ceramic breast plate with the staff, cracking it a little. The wacks caused Grievous to lose his balance and fall onto the dtone floor. Kenobi, seeing a chance to do some damage, drove the staff into Grievous' stomach, causing blue lightning to go flashing up and down the General's spine.

Grievous howled in pain and kicked at Kenobi. His foot made contact with the Jedi's face and he and the staff went down. Grievous got up and stalked over to the Jedi. He grabbed Kenobi by the throat and threw him toward the ship. Obi-Wan's body smacked into the hull of the ship and grunted in pain. Grievous punched at him just then but the Jedi was quick and dodged so all the General hit was the ship's side which his fist dented.

Just then Obi-Wan grabbed onto Grievous' breast plate and yanked it open, revealing green and gray internal organs.

"What!" the cyborg shouted then punched Kenobi down before he could try anything.

Obi-Wan tried to get back up but Grievous grabbed him again and flung him toward the edge of the cliff. The Jedi managed to hang on but not by much since his legs and lower body hung over the side.

Grievous chuckled in triumph and picked up the electrastaff with his foot. He took it in his hand and stalked over toward Kenobi, bent on finishing him off and not even bothering to close his armor back up. (Why the hell was he so stupid?)

Just as the cyborg raised the staff to strike the final blow Obi-Wan used the Force to pulled Grievous' forgotten blaster into his hand. The second the weapon smacked into his palm he fired.

Grievous felt fire rip into his organs.

* * *

Shaak Ti, who was bonded to the General's heart and mind by the Force, also felt the fire in her own body and panicked, causing her own emotions and fear to be shared by both.

* * *

_Now that I know what I'm without  
you can't just leave me  
breathe into me and make me real  
bring me to life_

Grievous grabbed his stomach and hunched over. He glared at Kenobi but all of a studden, and before Obi-Wan could fire another shot, he felt fear rise up inside him and began to panic.

_YOU'RE GOING TO DIE!_

Realizing what would happen if he stayed there longer without putting out the fire, he bolted and, for some weird reason, threw himself over the edge, much to the surprise of the confused Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Obi-Wan dropped the blaster and climbed back onto the ledge. He walked over to the edge and peeked down into the canyon. He saw a huge wall of water shoot upward as something heavy landed in the lake below.

_What in the world was that about? _he thought stratching his head. _Did he just...? _Kenobi shrugged. _Well whatever it was I hope it got rid of him. _

Without another looked back Obi-Wan turned away from the edge and headed back into the cave to find Boga.

_(Wake me up)  
Wake me up inside  
(I can't wake up)  
Wake me up inside  
(Save me)  
call my name and save me from the dark  
(Wake me up)  
bid my blood to run  
(I can't wake up)  
before I come undone  
(Save me)  
save me from the nothing I've become  
_

_Bring me to life  
(I've been living a lie, there's nothing inside)  
Bring me to life_

* * *

Shaak Ti saw and heard the splash two seconds after she saw the glint of Grievous' armor as he came flying down toward the water from somewhere above. It didn't take her long to figure out what had happened. After all, in a way, she'd been there.

_This isn't good, _she thought, staring into the water.

Pulling a breathing mask out of a pocket like ting on her belt and putting it on her face she dived into the water. Kicking her legs and moving her arms she swam through the blue murky water, searching for Grievous' body. _Oh, Force, I hope he hasn't drowned!_

She swam down the river for a few more minutes then, realizing it was a lost cause, swam back to the surface. When her head broke the surface she pulled her breath mask out of her mouth and swam back to the shore. She pulled herself out of the water and pulled her legs up to her chin. She suddenly felt very cold.

_Frozen inside without your touch without your love darling only you are the life among the dead_

_Qui-Gon Jinn, _she thought resting her head on her knees. _I'm sorry. I failed..._

She sat there a few minutes just letting her thoughts go then slowly stood up. Now that she'd failed Qui-Gon's request there was no other reason for her to stay there. _I guess I'll just go look for Obi-Wan and ask for a ride back to the Temple. _she thought as she walked. _Won't he be surprised seeing me alive when he saw me get killed on the **Invisable Hand. **I wonder what he'll say?_

The rocks were rough against her bare feet and she had to be extra careful so not to cut them on the sharp stones. _I'd better look for my boots while I'm down here, _she thought, climbing over a large stone.

She hadn't gotten far when she caught a glint of metal out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head in the direction it had come from but didn't see anything. _What was that? _she wondered heading over to the spot. _I'd better find out._

She climbed over another large rock then stopped to stare at what she saw. _ 1 found him!_

Before her lay General Grievous. Or at least his body. Half of his body was on the shore and the other half was still in the water. She quickly made her way over to him and knelt over him.

She saw his breast plate was open and his organs underneith. They looked a bit burned but still intact. A closer look told her that they were still working too!

_He's alive! _She looked at is face. _But... unconcious? _She sat down. _Unconcius or dying. _

_All this time I can't believe I couldn't see  
kept in the dark but you were there in front of me  
I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems  
got to open my eyes to everything  
without a thought without a voice without a soul  
don't let me die here  
there must be something more  
bring me to life_

She stood back up and walked behind his head. She grabbed his arms. _I'd better get him out of here before he rusts. _She drug him out of the water until his feet could be seen then set him down and sat beside him. _Qui-Gon Jinn wants him alive for some reason. I must heal him... _she thought looking at the cyborg again. _But... Should I? He tried to kill Obi-Wan but didn't thanks to me. _She looked up. _Qui-Gon wants him alive and wants me to keep him alive. I'm going to have to do what he wanted even if Grievous doesn't thank me..._

She looked at his exposed organs. _The only way to save him is to heal him. _she hesitated. _That means I'm going to have to touch his organs.. _she took a deep breath to calm herself down. _I hope this is all worth it._

Slowly, very slowly, her fingers crept toward his ruined lungs and heart. She could feel the beat of his heart through the Force and through her fingers. It seemed to be slowing down the longer she hesitated.

_I'd better just do this, _she told herself. _Otherwsie I'm going to lose him.._

Her fingers touched the organs, which felt wet and sloppy. She slowed her breathing and let her mind and the General's ruined organs begin to fill with the healing power of the Force.

_(Wake me up)  
Wake me up inside  
(I can't wake up)  
Wake me up inside  
(Save me)  
call my name and save me from the dark  
(Wake me up)  
bid my blood to run  
(I can't wake up)  
before I come undone  
(Save me)  
save me from the nothing I've become_

_  
(Bring me to life)  
I've been living a lie, there's nothing inside  
(Bring me to life)_

_A/N_

_Actually I have no idea if Shaak Ti has Jedi healer skills. I'm guessing so don't be too mad. I liked this chapter except for the part where Grievous throws himself over the edge like someone commiting suicide. I tried to think of a better way to do that part but nothing came to me._

_**Bring Me To Life **is copyright Evanescence I do not own the song nor am I making money from it being in this fic. _


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

Shaak Ti reached into the Force and began searching for everything that had harmed the General's internal organs. She saw the burns glowing redly in the Force. There it was, the problem, which, if she concentrated enough, she could fix easily. She stroaked the wounds gently, very gently, with etheric ripples hoping her best was good enough. As she did so she began to realize she _wanted _to help him. Wanted him to look at her with those fierce eyes of his.

She knew these thoughts were against a Jedi's way of thinking but she couldn't stop them. They, like how she felt earlier when she realized what he used to be, were totally natural. Somehow they seemed to help her heal the wounds as well, like her emotions were another kind of healing Force, and within a few mniues the red glow faded and Shaak Ti could feel his wounds were healed.

_Now I will tell you what I've done for you  
50 thousand tears I've cried  
Screaming Deceiving and Bleeding for you  
And you still won't hear me  
(I'm going under)  
Don't want your hand this time I'll save myself  
Maybe I'll wake up for once  
Not tormented daily defeated by you  
Just when I thought I'd reached the bottom  
I'm dying again_

Sighing with relief, the Togruta came out of the Force.

Shaak Ti blinked and her eyes came back into focus. She looked down at Grievous who seemed to be sleeping. She removed her hands from his organs and closed the armor until she heard it snap into place. Sighing again she leaned her head back and stared at the sky. _Now all I can do wait, _she thought closing her eyes. _I don't know how well I did until he wakes up._

She probably wopuld have dozed off then but she felt a movement near her and opened her eyes again. She looked down at Grievous. He seemed to be waking up.

"Grievous?" she said.

Grievous opened his eyes and stared at her. She didn't look away this time. She stared back.

Silence stretched between them.

Eventually Grievous looked away from her. "Where am I?" he asked looking around.

"The bottom of an Utapau sinkhole," she replied.

His eyes lost focus for a moment. "Utapua...," he pondered not quite remembering the importance of the name for a few seconds. Suddenly it came to him. Arriving, talking to Shaak Ti, Obi-Wan, the fire in his insides, his panic, jumping over a ledge, instanly blacking out when he hit a body of water. "KENOBI!" he growled sitting up.

"Kenobi?" she asked looking at him.

"Kenobi tried to kill me!" he told her pounding the ground with his fist. "But how? It wasn't suppost to be this way!"

"What way?"

"I was suppost to meet... Sidous... new apprentice. This wasn't-" the rest of his sentence was cut off by severe hacking coughs.

Shaak Ti instantly grabbed his breast plate and opened it slowly. So she hadn't been successful in removing whatever caused the coughing but maybe since the burns were healed she could look again and find out what was causing it.

_I'm going under  
Drowning in you  
I'm falling forever  
I've got to break through  
I'm going under_

Grievous didn't stop her. His coughs sibsided and he was silent for a moment. It gave him time to think. Sidious said he'd meet the new apprentice yet this had happened. In just a few seconds the General felt very lied to.

"Sidious new apprentice?" Shaak Ti asked, using the Force to root out the problem. "Who would that be?"

"I don't know."

"But he said you'd meet him."

"Yes."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Sidous can see into the future."

"Yet you almost died," she pointed out. "Therefore you shouldn't have been able to see the apprentice."

"Yes..."

"Obi-Wan nearly killed you but...," she closed her eyes halfway. "Only if you were shot more than once."

He looked down at her. "What are you saying?" he inquired.

"The panic you felt," she said feeling around his organs with the Force. "Was caused by me."

"You?"

Just then she found the problem but couldn't do anything about it right then. "Yes," she said nodding. "I was Force bonded to your heart and mind. I felt your pain when Master Kenobi shot you. That panic you felt wasn't yours but... mine... my fear mixed with your anger towards Jedi."

Grievous looked startled at this. "You?" he asked. "Why?"

Her eyelids were even lower now. "Because I had to," she replied.

"Had to... or wanted to...?"

Shaak Ti did not answer this inquiry and just did what little she could to try and fix the other problem with the General's lungs. While she did this Grievous' mind began to suddenly realize something. He should have been dead by now but only Shaak Ti's bond on his heart and mind. Without it...

_Death... _the word echoed through his mind. _Death... _Sidious, who could see the future, probably knew that was going to happen but... had said nothing... not a word or hint... nothing...

_Blurring and Stirring the truth and the lies  
So I don't know what's real and what's not  
Always confusing the thoughts in my head  
So I can't trust myself anymore  
I'm dying again_

The cyborg came to a conclusion. Sidious did not care about him. He never had. To him General Grievous of the Kaleesh had been only a liability. A puppet, a pawn. His only use was to die and die quickly.

_He lied to me! He lied to me all this time! He wanted me dead all along! _Girevous fists clenched in anger. _How _dare_ he betray me!_

Abrumptly Grievous stood up. Shaak Ti's hand slipped away from his organs before she could do anything to try to fix them. He closed the armor and started to stalk away, leaving the Jedi woman just sitting there.

"Where are you going?" she asked getting up and chasing after him.

"Coruscant," he replied clenching his fists even tighter.

"Coruscant?" she asked. "Why?"

He looked back at her. Anger brought new fire to his eyes. "That is where Sidious is," he answered. (A/N he's taking a guess. I mean where else would that Sith be?)

Shaak Ti stopped. "He is...?"

"Yes," he said turning away. "But he won't be for long..." he walked away from her.

Shaak Ti had the urge to follow. Something _wanted_ her to follow. Which is exactly what she did.

_I'm going under  
Drowing in you  
I'm falling forever  
I've got to break through_

* * *

They had nearly reached the spot where Grievous had fallen into the water when Shaak Ti felt a disturbance in the Force. "Wait!" she called grabbing his arm and jerking him behind a large rock.

The General gave her an irritated look. "What now, female?" he demanded.

She put a hand on his mask in a gesture of silence. "Shhh!" she hissed. She peeked around the rock. She saw Comander Cody and a few clone troopers mulling around the lake. _What is going on?_

"He's got to be down here," Cody told his troopers. "Keep searching."

She looked back at Grievous. "I think they're looking for you," she said.

"What!" he demanded. "Why would they be looking for me? They probably think I drowned."

"Hmmm..." was all she said to that.

"But either way," he went on shrugging. "I still have to go to Coruscant. Sidious is not going to get away with betraying me!"

"But," she started to protest.

"Don't try to stop me, female," he cut her off angrily. "I _have_ to do this."

Then, before she could say anything more, he stormed out from behind the rock. For a moment the Togruta froze. _I can't let him out out there by himself! _she realized. _If those troopers see him they'll kill him!_

"Grievous!" she called chasing after him. "Wait for me!"

He stopped and looked back at her. His eyes held surprise. She caught up with him withing seconds and started to walk beside him. He still stared at her. "You're a strange Jedi," he said.

"Maybe," was her answer to that.

Suddenly a voice shouted. "HALT!"

Grievous and Shaak Ti froze. The female Jedi looked in the direction the voice had come from. Comander Cody and a few armed storm troopers stood before them.

"So there _was_ two of them," Cody said.

Shaak Ti was confused. "Two of who?"

The troopers, instead of answering, aimed their guns at her at the General.

"Cody?" she asked looking at the comander. "What is this?"

"Kill them!" he ordered.

"Th.. them?"

The troppers opened fire.

Shaak Ti's borrowed lightsaber came into her hand and activated. She instantly went into a defensive stance blocking as many bolts as she could. _What is going on?_ she wondered. _Why are they shooting at me? What did I do? Is it because of Grievous? _she looked around from him but he was gone. _Where is he?_

Suddenly a bolt grazed her hurt shoulder. Screaming in pain she dropped her lightsaber and put her hand over her wound. She fell onto the ground clutching the spot. She heard guns clicking and looked up. The troopers were aiming at her.

_So go on and scream  
Scream at me I'm so far away  
I won't be broken again  
I've got to breathe I can't keep going under_

"NO!" she shouted closing her eyes as she waited for the end.

It didn't come.

She suddenly heard wailing and opened her eyes. What she saw shocked and confused her.

General Grievous was attacking the troopers. He'd grab them and practically rip them to shreds. It was gruesome. But she had no idea why he was doing it. Was he taking out his anger on troopers or was he trying to protect her?

"Grievous?" she said watching him.

Grievous looked back at her. She saw a weird emotion in his eyes she couldn't read. It went away the moment his eyes locked with hers. He immediatly thrust the dead troopers into the lake and ran up to her.

"Come," he said grabbing her around the waist and throwing her onto his back. "Let's get out of here!"

Before she could figure out what was happening, Grievous dashed into the caves and rapidly made his way to the hanger.

_I'm going under  
Drowing in you  
I'm falling forever  
I've got to break through_

_I'm going under_

_A/N_

_Griev is acting a little differently than before. That's because he is so mad at Sidious for lying to him he doesn't hate the Jedi so much anymore. He hates the Sith even more. Now they have to leave. Shaak Ti has no clue about Palpy's order 66 so she is puzzled about the way the Clones were acting. _

_**Going Under **is Copywrite Evanescene. I do not own the song or the group. I have no money_


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

_Change my attempt good intentions..._

Shaak Ti soon realized that the way they were going was not the way to the hanger. They were going right when they should have been going left through the caves. It unsettled her a little and she had to voice her concerns. "Where are we going?" she asked General Grievous who was still carrying her.

The General gave no immediate replies but when they arrived at their destination the Togruta gasped. "Your room?" she asked totally confused. "Why did you come here?"  
Grievous set her down. "There are a few things I need to get," he replied. He turned toward the door. "I'll be back." The door opened when he got near it and he disappeared inside.

Shaak Ti leaned against the wall by the door, holding her wounded shoulder. It had opened again and was bleeding but not too much so she could ignore it. She had other things on her mind as she scanned the area with her eyes for more clone troopers. Things just didn't add up. Why were they trying to kill her? What had she done?

_Why did they try to kill me? What is going on? Did something happen while I was here? _She wondered. _I hope Grievous gets out here soon. One of those troopers could pass by here any minute._  
Just then the door opened back up. Shaak Ti was brought out of her thoughts as she turned to the cyborg. She saw he looked bigger again. Probably because he was wearing another cape. "Is that all?" she asked when she saw he was empty handed aside from the new cape.

"No," he replied. "There were other things I needed to get as well."

"Like?"

The General still refused to tell her anything. Instead he grabbed her arm and began rushing her deeper into the caves. "We'd better keep moving," he adviced. "It's not safe here."  
Shaak Ti couldn't agree more but didn't say anything. She could tell Grievous was in a hurry and didn't want to chat. It would slow them down. It wasn't long before they reached the hanger. It was almost completely empty.

_Crouched over  
You were not there  
Living in fear  
But signs were not really that scarce  
Obvious tears  
And I will not  
Hide you through this  
I want you to help  
Please see  
The bleeding heart perched on my shirt_

"I don't see any ships," she said looking around.

Grievous still said nothing. His golden eyes also scanned the hanger for anything useful. He knew there had to be at least one ship there somewhere. Even if it was old and no longer in use.

"I see one," he said after a minute.

"Where?" she asked looking around.

He took her hand. "Come with me," he said walking forward before she knew what he was doing.

The Togruta staggered a bit then caught her balance as she let Grievous lead her toward the edge of the hanger. As they got closer to the spot Grievous was heading to, Shaak Ti caught sight of a small black and silver colored ship. It was quite small and didn't look like it had much room in it. Maybe not enough for her and Grievous but given the fact that Grievous and her were both now fugatives one couldn't be too picky.

When they reached the ship Grievous said. "Wait here a second."

_Die, withdraw  
Hide in cold sweat  
Quivering lips  
Ignore remorse  
Naming a kid, living wasteland  
This time you've tried  
All that you can turning you red_

Before she could ask what he was doing the General walked over to where he'd dropped his first cape (it was still there right where he'd left it) and picked it up. Reaching into his new cape he pulled out Shaak Ti's bloody, ripped cloak. Then, without pausing and to the total confusion of the female Jedi Master, he threw both pieces of cloth over the ledge.

"Why did you do that?" she asked as he turned back to her.

"If they see those maybe they'll think we're dead," he said logically. He grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the ship rather roughly. "Let's get out of here before they find us."

"Uh huh," she said still staring at the ledge.

* * *

They got off the planet a few minutes later. "So," Shaak Ti said from her seat behind Grievous, who was piloting. "What are you going to do to Sidious when you get to Coruscant?"

"It's simple," he said as if the answer was obvious. "Once I get my grip around that lying Sith's neck I'm going to squeeze the life out of him!"

Shaak Ti was silent for a moment. She could think of nothing to say to him. She knew if she were in his place and, in some way she was, she'd act the same way. In fact she did feel the same way but she wasn't about to tell Grievous that.

"But you don't have to worry," he said suddenly almost as an after thought. "If you don't betray me you'll never find yourself in my grip."

"What?" she asked totally taken by surprise at these words. "What do you mean?"

But once again Grievous was ignoring her. He refused to explain. Shaak Ti didn't push it. She didn't want him yelling at her.

_Change my attempt good intentions  
Should I, could I  
Here we are with your obsession  
Should I, could I_

* * *

It was dark in Coruscant by the time the two fugatives ship entered the city/planet's atmosphere. Shaak Ti got up and rested her arms over Grievous chair so she could get a better look at the city. When she did this her hand touched one of his antenia things but neither noticed. _Coruscant... _she thought. _I'm home..._ Just then she spotted the Jedi Temple off in the distance. _The Temple... _something black was rising from it. Dark clouds. _Is that smoke?_

"Looks like the Jedi Temple has fallen," Grievous commented in an emotionless voice.

"We have to go there!" she said suddenly. "I have to find out what's going on!"

_They're probably all dead, _he thought then realized something. If the Jedi were dead they wouldn't need their lightsabers anymore. They would be up for grabs for anyone who wanted one. The very thought of all those lightsabers made him make a descition he wouldn't have made otherwise, even for her.

"Fine," he agreed. "We'll go there first."

She looked down at him surprised and relieved. "Thank you, General," she said softly. "I apppreciate it."

If only she knew his real motive.

* * *

_Crowned hopeless  
The article read living wasteland  
This time you've tried  
All that you can turning you red  
but I will not  
Hide you through this  
I want you to help_

Lucky for them Anakin had already finished his deed at the Temple by the time their ship landed inside the Temple hanger. Shaak Ti immediatly climbed out of the ship and dashed into the Temple feeling anguish in the Force coming from that place. Grievous was right behind her but at a slightly slower pace. It wasn't his home and he didn't really care about it. But he began to get a feeling of doom from in there and the feeling unsettled him.

When he and the Jedi woman entered the Temple they stood and stared in shock at what they saw. The Togruta put a hand over her mouth and said without thinking. "Oh my god!"

Grievous said nothing. Even though he'd expected the Jedi to be dead he hadn't expected _this_! It was a slaughter house! Jedi bodies lay everywhere and not just the adults either. Padawans. Padawans and Younglings. For a minute Grievous felt a boiling rage. What if these had been his own children?

_Change my attempt good intentions  
Should I, could I  
Here we are with your obsession  
Should I, could I_

Shaak Ti was totally unaware of his thoughts. She walked swiftly down the corridor leaning down to examine a body here and there to see if they were really dead. Grievous followed, also leaning down, but only to collect those lightsabers. His Jedi maiden didn't notice. She was too busy being upset to notice.

"Who would do this?" she asked out loud. "Who would be so heartless to kill Younglings?"

Grievous looked up. He noticed Shaak Ti was doing something he never thought he'd ever see any Jedi do, _ever_. Cry. He'd always thought they were incapable of crying.

"We promised these children's parents that we would keep them safe," she went on wiping her eyes. "We promised we would take care of them but... now this..."

Grievous watched her a moment then stuffed those lightsabers into his cape pockets and walked up to her. "Why did you take these children from their parents anyway?" he wanted to know.

"The Force," she replied.

"The Force." He should have known.

"Whenever we sensed the Force in a child we'd sit the parents down and talk to them about it," she explained. "We'd tell them taking the child to the Temple would be the best place for them. Sometimes the parents would refuse and sometimes the parents were happy to give them up." she shook her head. "I never did that. I never understood why those parents who refused finally gave in. I guess I'll never know. But this... What am I going to tell their parents?"

Shaak Ti felt someone's hand rest on her shoulder. She looked at the hand then up. Grievous stared down at her. "I'm sorry," he said and he found he ment it.

"It's not your fault," she said. "But if you had had the chance would you have done the same thing?"

"No."

"No?"

"I may hate Jedi but I would never be heartless enough to kill a three year old child," he told her sounding offended that she would think such a thing. "I had children once too you know. When they were killed right infront of me that was the worst thing ever. I still remember their screams." She thought she saw him shiver. "Anyone who kills a child desevres to be killed themself."

_Heave the silver hollow sliver  
Piercing through another victim  
Turn and tremble be judgmental  
Ignorant to all the symbols  
Blind the face with beauty paste  
Eventually you'll one day know_

The Jedi woman said nothing. She hadn't expected something like that to ever come out of the General's mouth but it had. She stared at the child a little longer then stood. Without saying anything or looking back at Grievous she walked further down the hall.

_Change my attempt good intentions  
Limbs tied, skin tight  
Self inflicted his perdition_

"Where are you going?" he asked following her.

"I'm going to find out who did this," she replied with determination.

"How?"

"You'll see."

Grievous followed her into the room with the security probes. He watched the Jedi woman turn it on and fast forward it until she reached a certain part. As she let it play from there she gasped in surprise at what she saw.

"I _can't_ believe this!" she exclaimed.

She saw Anakin Skywalker, the supposed Chosen One, killing the Jedi. Near the end of the recording she saw him talking to a dark figure.

"Sidious," Grievous said glaring at the image. "So _that's_ who he was talking about."

Shaak Ti looked at the cyborg and opened her mouth to say something. Before she could say one word she was interupted by a noise in the hall.

_Should I, could I  
Change my attempt good intentions  
Should I, could I  
Should I, could I_

_A/N_

_I don't know. I never saw him killing children so I guess he never did. If he has please do not correct me about it. It would make me feel totally stupid._

_BTW **Wasteland **is copyright 10 Years. I do not own the song. I have no money._


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

"Quick hide!" Grievous ordered shoving her behind one of the desks.

"What is it?" Shaak Ti asked, peeking out from behind the desk.

"Clone troopers," the cyborg replied knowingly, he'd encountered them anough to know what their footsteps sounded like.

"Clone troopers?" she asked. "Like on Utapau?"

The General nodded and looked over at her. "I think I'd better take care of them before they come and take care of us."

"But..." she started to protest.

Too late.

Grievous had already left the room and ran down the corridor.

_I hold my breath as this life starts to take its toll  
I hide behind a smile as this perfect plan unfolds  
But oh, God, I feel I've been lied to  
Lost all faith in the things I have achieved  
And I_

"There's one!" she heard a trooper shout.

"Wait, that's not a Jedi," another shouted. "Oh my god! That's-"

Shaak Ti heard blaster fire and screams. The Togruta ducked back behind the desk and put her hands over her ears. She did not want to hear their screams but she heard them through the Force anyway. It was even worse in the Force that in real life so she quickly put down her hands.

Silence.

"Grievous?" she asked looking toward the entrance. "General Grievous?"

Still nothing. Feeling worried, she got up and headed out of the room and looked around. Nobody was in the corridor. _Where is he? _she headed down the hall, looking for the cyborg. _Where would he be? Did the clone troopers kill him?_

She'd almost reached the end of the hall when suddenly Girevous seemed to come out of nowhere. She gasped when she saw him. His whole body, even his cape, was covered in red. She knew what that was and it made her sick. She gasped and fell backward.

_Oh, god, I'm going to faint!_

She fell back but an arm caught her.

"Are you all right?"

The Jedi woman opened her eyes. They stared into deep golden ones. "Gr... Grievous!" she gasped. "What have you _done_!"

"I think we'd better get out of here," he said not answering her question. Before she could protest he picked her up. "I have a feeling more clone troopers are coming to make sure the Jedi are dead."

"Huh..."

Grievous ignored her attempts at talking and just headed down the hall with her.

_I've woken now to find myself  
In the shadows of all I have created  
I'm longing to be lost in you  
(away from this place I have made)  
Won't you take me away from me_

* * *

Shaak Ti's eyes came open awhile later. She found herself staring at a dirty ceiling. _Where am I?_ she thought, sitting up. _Did I faint?_

A noise somewhere else in the building, but close by, made her tense. She reached for her lightsaber and remembered it wasn't there. Grievous still had it. Weaponless she watched the doorway. In minute later Grievous came into the room.

"I see you have awakened," he said, facing her and putting his hands behind his back. "That's good. I was starting to worry."

Shaak Ti said nothing. She noticed his body was no longer covered in trooper blood. _He must have cleaned himself up... _"How did I get here?" she finally asked.

"After we left the Temple you fainted." he looked away. "I had to take you somewhere. Count Dooku told me about this place so I decided to take you here."

The Jedo woman looked around. She suddenly remembered this place. She'd come there about a week ago looking for Sidious. The Works. "What are we doing here?" she asked slowly getting to her feet.

"Like I said, I had to take you somwhere until you regained conciousness." he handed her something. "This is the only place I could think of. And now that you are feeling better we must be going."

"Where?" she asked looking around at the thing he'd handed her. It looked like a water bottle.

He looked at her. "You know where," he said. "The Senate building."

"The Senate Building? Why are we going there?"

"Because I have a feeling that is where Darth Sidious is," he replied, grabbing her arm. "Let's go." he drug her into the main hall.

They quickly left the building and stepped onto a ship landing pad. "Where's the ship?" she asked looking around.

"It got shot down," he replied dragging something out of the shadows. "We'll have to use this instead."

"A speeder bike?" she asked when she saw the machine. "I don't think..."

"You got a better idea, female?" he demanded, glaring at her.

"No," she said. The reason she wasn't sure about the bike was because she'd have to ride it sitting behind Grievous and wrap her arms around his waist. She didn't really want to do that... did she?

_Crawling through this world as disease flows through my veins  
I look into myself, but my own heart has been changed  
I can't go on like this  
I loathe all I've become_

Grievous had no time for procrastination. "Let's go," she said startling her out of her thoughts.

"Okay," she said nervously.

She climbed on behind him.

"Hold on tight otherwise you will fall," he told her.

She said nothing. Slowy, very slowly, she wrapped her arms around his waist. She knew Grievous could tell she was nervous but he didn't say anything. Instead he started the speeder and sped through the city toward the Senate building. When they reached it Grievious jumped off the speeder bike and started inside.

_I've woken now to find myself  
In the shadows of all I have created  
I'm longing to be lost in you  
(away from this place I have made)  
Won't you take me away from me_

"Wait!" Shaak Ti shouted reaching over to grab his cape.

When he felt resistance he turned and cast an annoyed glance at her. "What?" he demanded.

"You can't just go barging into that building!" she protested.

"Why not?"

"Look at you!" she said. "If you go in there and someone sees you things could get complicated."

"So what do you suggest?" he asked turning to face her.

"A disguise."

"A what?"

"Yes," she said nodding. "And one for me too."

"Why?"

"I'm a Jedi. Someone might recognize me."

"So what do you suggest?"

"I'll have to dress up as a Senator from Shili."

"And I?"

She stared at him thoughtfully a minute then said with a straight face. "You can be... my bodyguard."

"What!" he raged. He did not like that idea at all.

"Yes, and you'll have to wear something to cover your face," she went on, staring him up and down. "Otherwise your mask will give us away."

Grievous didn't seem to like this idea at all. He would have prefered just going inside and killing anything that got in his way until he reached his target. Shaak Ti would have been angry at his thoughts. Most of the Senators were unarmed anyway. Finally he nodded. "Fine," he said. "We'll do it your way."

"I won't even ask what _your_ way was," she said. She looked around then took his hand. "Come with me."

The two tiptoed down the hall (well Griev can't exactly do that but you know what I mean) and went into what looked like a coat closet. A minute later the two came out looking totally different.

"I hope this works for your sake," Grievous grumbled in bad temper as he glared at his disguise then at Shaak Ti.

"If it doesn't work it won't be my fault," she shot back. "It will be yours."

"How will it be mine?"

"Watch your temper." she was giving him a hint.

"Huh?"

"Your temper could give us away."

"Whatever," he pushed past her. "Let's get inside before the Chancellor's speech is over."

The two entered the the room where the speeches were made. Once inside they stood in an empty hovercraft thing and listened. Shaak Ti felt ripples through the Force. She had a feeling Grievous was trying his best to keep still, while at the same time keep a look out for anyone who could be the Sith Lord he was after. "What is wrong?" she asked after a minute.

"Palpatine..." he growled softly. "He... I think he is Sidious..."

"How do you know?"

"Listen to that speech." he instructed, pointing at Palpatine.

So she did. She heard Palpatine mention Jedi trying to kill him. That could only mean one thing. He _had_ to be who Grievous thought he was. _Oh stars, he's a Sith Lord and I didn't even know! I protected a Sith Lord!_

Shaak Ti didn't not hear the end of his speech and that was a good thing anyway. The last thing she heard before everyone started to heard out was people cheering loudly.

_Lost in a dying world I reach for something more  
I have grown so weary of this lie I live_

* * *

A few minutes later Palpatine finished his speech and all the Seantors began to leave the room. As everyone mulled around in the hall, leaving the building or just stopping to talk, Shaak Ti felt a dusturbance in the Force and looked over her shoulder. She saw Palpatine staring at her. He didn't look friendly at all.

Grievous noticed this too. "He recognizes you," he muttered.

"I don't think so," she said but she couldn't be sure.

"Then why is he coming over here?"

"What?" The Torguta looked back at Palpatine. He stood right behind her. She jumped, startled. "Oh, Chancellor," she said trying to accent her voice. "You startled me."

"Oh, I'm sorry,' he said his eyes looking her up and down. "Could I talk to you in my office?'

This question made her nervous. "Um... why?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Call it a formality," he said.

"Just do it,." Grievous whispered in her ear. "If you don't he'll suspect something."

"Okay," she said nodding.

Palpatine thought she was adressing him. "Good," he said satisfied. He turned away from her. "Come with me, please."

Shaak Ti cast a worried glance at Grievous who shrugged. Not wanting Palptine to know she was hesitating, she quckly followed him with Grievous right behind her. All the way to the office she kept on getting a bad feeling she couldn't push away.

_I've woken now to find myself  
In the shadows of all I have created  
I'm longing to be lost in you  
(away from this place I have made)  
Won't you take me away from me_

_A/N_

_There isn't much I can say for this chapter. I just hope I haven't confused anyone. _

_**Away From Me **is Copyright Evanescence_


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

When Shaak Ti, General Grievous, and Chancellor Palpatine (also known as Darth Sidious) arrived in the Chancellor's office, Palpatine took a seat in his big chair and faced the Togruta. She looked at him nervously, feeling something sinister creeping at her senses. _Something's wrong..._

"You're new," he said, leaning forward in his chair and staring into her eyes. "Were you recently elected?"

_Better let him think that. _She nodded. "Yes," she lied.

"Then you must think the war is still going on."

"Why do you say that?"

"You brought a body guard with you," he replied, pointing at Grievous.

"Oh him," Shaak Ti said, not looking at the General. "Yes, I _had_ thought the war was still going on. Now I hear it is over. But I think I should be careful, anyway. Since I heard about the Jedi that attacked you..."

"Ah, the Jedi," Palpatine said, leaning back in his chair and intertwining his fingers. "You don't need to worry about them."

"Why do you say that?"

"They will be taken care of."

"Oh," she said looking away from his piercing stare. "It's hard to believe... I always thought the Jedi were loyal to the Republic."

"They've been planning to take over for awhile," he said eyeing her. "I never trusted them."

"Not even the ones that worked so hard to protect you when you were captured by General Grievous?" she wanted to know.

"I'm sure they had reasons for that as well," he informed her.

"But I heard they went to great lengths to protect you," she protested.

Palpatine waved her words off. "All for their own gain, I'm sure," he said airily.

Shaak Ti noticed the Chancellor watched her closely. _Does he know who I am? _she wondered. _But how could he? Am I that recognizable? _"Maybe," she said slowly. "But I guess we'll never know now. I think I'd better be going before someone starts to worry." she turned to go. "It was nice talking to you, Chancellor."

"Wait," he said.

She froze. _He knows!  
_"I don't like this," Grievous muttered loud enough to only be heard by her. "I think he suspects something." Shaak Ti couldn't agree more.

"Miss... uh..."

"Qui," she said using the first part of Qui-Gon Jinn's first name. "Yura Qui."

"Miss Yura Qui," he said. "I was wondering if I could ask you something."

She turned around to face him. She didn't trust him enough to keep her back on his long. "Yes?" she asked. "What is it?"

"Have you ever heard of a Jedi named Shaak Ti?" he asked.

_He's trying to trap me. _She shook her head. "No, can't say that I have," she lied. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, she was of your race for one thing and she was one of the Jedi who tried to protect me from General Grievous, though she didn't do a very good job," he chuckled. "She got caught herself."

"She sounded loyal."

"Maybe," he said as if thinking it over. "But I doubt it."

"So where is this Jedi woman now?" Shaak Ti asked, her hands beginning to shake under the folds of her robes.

Palptine didn't answer right away. He got out of his chair and walked around his desk until he was right infront of her. "Why don't you tell me?" he asked.

She backed away startled. _He knows it's me! _"I-I don't know what I would be able to tell you," she stammered. "I never met the woman."

"I think you did," he said his one hand reaching into the folds of his robe. "I think you knew her well enough to _be _her! Aren't I right, Jedi Master Shaak Ti?"

The Jedi woman took another step back. "I...I..." was all she could say. She fell into Grievous who kept her from falling onto the floor. "I... don't..."

"So what brings you here, Master Ti?" the Sith Lord asked, leaning toward her. "Coming to finish the job?" he pulled his hand out of his robe and ignited a red lightsaber. "I can assure you that that is not likely to happen, wench."

"I wasn't," she protested.

Papltine raised his lightsaber. "That is right!" he said. "Because I'm going to keep you from even _trying!" _He swung.

Shaak Ti screamed as she saw the lightsaber blade coming toward her. She lost her footing and fell into Grievous. Suddenly two more blades, one blue and one green, met the red one in mid swing. The Togruta stared at them in surprise.

"I'm sorry, Darth Sidious," Grievous said, his words dripping with hate. "But I cannot allow you to harm this woman."

Palpatine stared at Shaak Ti's cloaked and hooded bodyguard. When he'd first seen the thing he'd though it was another Jedi but now he saw he was proven wrong. "General Grievous," the Sith said half in surprise and half in annoyance. "I see you have survived."

"No thanks to you, Sidious!" the cyborg growled. "All this time I've been loyal to you and the only thing you wanted to do with me was kill me!"

"I guess my prediction was wrong."

"Thanks to this woman!"

The Chancellor/Emperor sneered. "You've gone soft on them now," he said. "That makes you just as much a traitor as she is!" he used a Force push to press a button on his desk. "Which means, you're a threat. A threat I must deal with."

Suddenly clone troopers stormed into the office and aimed their weapons at the Jedi and the cyborg. "Do not move!" the lead trooper ordered. "You are under arrest!"

Palpatine smirked. "I would advice you to give yourselves up peacefully."

Grievous growled. "I _never _surrender," he snarled. "Didn't you learn that from the experienses with Kenobi?"  
"I learned it takes more than one blaster bolt to kill you."

"Grievous!" Shaak Ti gasped suddenly, grasping his robes. "We have to get out of here!"

The ex-driod General glared at Palpatine, the troopers, then at Shaak Ti. He realized that even if he got out alive by fighting to the death, Shaak Ti, who was unarmed, would likely die. He realized that he didn't want that. She didn't deserve that kind of fate. If anyone was going to kill her it would be him.

Upon making that descition he grabbed the Togruta and pulled her onto his back. "Hold on!" he orderd, charging the troopers and slashing at them with his lightsabers. 'This isn't going to be good."

The troopers were no match for the Kaleesh General and wound up going down shooting or getting out of the way. Grievous knew that even if he _did_ kill all the troopers Palpatine was likely to challenge him next and he couldn't do that with Shaak Ti holding onto him. When all the troopers were gone Grievous charged into the hall and ran all the way to the parking lot without looking back. "I think we'd better get out of here until I can come up with a better plan," he said finding the speeder they'd ridden to the building and hopping on with Shaak Ti still holding onto him.

"Good idea," she agreed looking over her shoulder at the building. "This was dangersous."

Grievous said nothing to that. Reving the engine he turned it toward the sky and drove it out of the parking lot and into the on going Coruscant traffic.

_A/N_

_I wonder how he got away with saying the Jedi were evil and wanted to kill him even after they went to great lengths to protect him from Grievous, who would have enjoyed killing him. That would definantly show that they were loyal. The stupid bastard. Well no song lyrics for this chapter. There was nothing I could put up that would fit. _


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

"Do you think they'll come after us?" Shaak Ti asked once she and General Grievous were off the planet in a Star Cruiser they had taken from the Jedi Temple.

"Not where we're going," he replied not looking at her.

"Where are we going?"

"My home planet, Kalee."

"Kalee?" she asked staring at him. "Isn't that the first place he'll look?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"He'll probably think I'm not _dumb_ enough to return to my home planet. He might think we headed to your home planet, Shili."

"Why?"

"He might think you want to return to your own family."

She looked out the ship's windshield. "I don't even remember my family," she told him quietly.

"Oh," was all he said.

Silence followed.

Shaak Ti and General Grievous stared out the windshield at the stars. It reminded Shaak Ti of something Master Yoda had told her once...

"Like stars the Jedi are. A light in the darkness we must be. Chase away the evil we can. Protect the universe we are trained to do..."

_Like stars... When Jedi die it's like a star going out. I wonder how many stars are left in this galaxy?  
_"General," she said suddenly confused by something.

"What?"

"How come you're not being so nasty to me anymore?" she wanted to know.

"What do you mean?"

"Before, when you kidnapped me and Palpatine and before your fight with Obi-Wan you were so rude and violent towards me," she explained.

"And now?"

"And now you're actually talking civallized to me," she replied. "You're acting like you consider me a person instead of 'Jedi Scum'."

"I have my reasons," he said not looking at her.

"What are they?" she asked curiosly.

"I don't have to tell you, female!" he snapped, getting impatient by her prying. "Why don't you just act like the women on my planet and stay silent until I address you?"

"Because I'm-"

"Shut up!" he yelled, glaring at her. "Unless you want me to go back to acting that way toward you?"

She stared into his eyes. She realized her mistake and immediatly regretted it. "I'm sorry," she said. "I was just curious. I'll be quiet."

"Good," he said turning back to the controls. "Now you are finally acting like a normal person."

Shaak Ti said nothing to that but wondered; _I'm just _now _acting like a normal person? How did I act before? Was he right? Was I acting more like a droid then his army?_

She looked toward the stars again. Those far away lights seemed dimmer now. She closed her eyes as she probed the Force for any signs of life on those far away planets. Signs of Jedi that hadn't fallen victom to their clones. She felt none, only her own and a faint glimmer back on Coruscant.

_Who could be left? _she wondered, now as she began to doze. _Who escaped those horrible exacutions?_

_

* * *

_

Somebody shaking her roughly, roused the Togruta a long time later. She tried to move away from that shaking. She didn't want to wake up just yet.

"Wake up this minute, woman!" a gruff, accented voice finally commanded after a few minutes.

"Go away!" she mummbled, Force shoving whoever it was away from her.

She heard a grunt and a loud metalic clatter then a growling noise of anger. The next instant she was sent sprawling onto rock hard, dirt covered ground.

Shaak Ti groaned and opened her eyes. She found herself staring into the golden reptillian eyes of General Grievous, who was on all fours leaning over her.

"General!" she gasped, backing away from his piercing gaze.

"Time to rise and shine, my Togruta beauty, " he said pushing himself to his feet. He put his hands behind his back and stared down at her expectantly. "Well?"

"Okay," she said getting up.

Once she was on her feet she looked around herself. She lush green trees covered in all sorts of colorful flowers surounding the clearing where Grievous had landed their ship. "Where are we?" she asked unable to take her eyes off all those flowers. "I've never seen such a jungle before."

Grievous didn't answer at first. He was too busy staring at the trees and flowers. He listened to the sound of the birds and animels living in the lush suroundings. The place was returning to it's former state before the Huk Wars. The jungle breeze blew his cape away from his body. He closed his eyes halfway and sighed with pleasure.

_Almost exactly the way I remember it... _he thought.

Shaak Ti looked up at him. "Grievous?" she noticed the look on his face. It was totally tranquile. She was almost sure she saw tears glistening in his almost human eyes. _Does he know where we are? Has he been here before?_

"Genral Grievous?" she asked him once again, totally confused about the way he was acting.

Grievous seemed to come out of a trance just then. He fixed his live eyes on her. "Yes?" he asked as if he just remembered she was there.

"Where are we?" she asked again.

Grievous walked up to her and tentively rested a durasteel hand on her rose colored shoulder. "Welcome to Kalee," he said waving his hand around their suroundings.

She blinked. "Kalee?" she asked letting her eyes rove around the forest then come to rest on his mask again. "Wha..."

"Don't you remember?" he asked surprised that she was asking when he'd told her before. "This is my home planet. I said I was going here, remember?"

She did remember. He'd mentioned the planet while they were on the ship. "Yes," she confirmed nodding. "Forgive me. My memory hasn't been that great since you bashed my head into that wall on your ship."

"Oh," he said taking his hand off her shoulder. "Sorry about that. let's go." he started to walk away.

"Go?" she asked not sure what he ment. "Go where?"

He looked back at her. She wasn't moving. He walked back to her and gave her a small push. "Move!" he said poking her along.

"But where are we going?" she asked as he probed her toward the jungle.

"My village," he replied. 'Home."

_A/N _

_I was in a bit of a hurry. This chapter is kinda Umm I dunno. There is just something about it I don't really like. All well. _


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

The jungle proved to be harder to get through than it had first looked. For one thing vines and moss grew in strange places on the ground and for another, Shaak Ti, who had left her boots on Utapau, was barefoot and therefore felt every rock and pebble under her feet. The going was rough for the Togruta but sher said nothing for worry that Grievous might grump at her. The walking didn't bother him any. He had feet made of durasteel and therefore didn't feel all the little offenders that she did.

"How far is the village?" she asked him after a few hours of walking in silence.

"About a day or twos walk from here," he replied. "Shorter than that if we don't stop to rest at all."

"Oh," she said then tripped over a vine. She fell forward and smacked into the back of his cape.

He grunted as she knocked him slightly off balance then quickly regained his footing and reached behind himself to grab her arm.

"Becareful," he said yanking her infront of him. "You almost knocked me over."

"I'm sorry," she apoligized.

He let her arm go. They resumed walking.

They hadn't been walking for very long when Shaak Ti felt a disturbance in the Force. Tensing she stopped to listen. She heard a rustling in the trees above her. She looked over her shoulder just in time to see two huge taloned claws come at her!

* * *

Shaak Ti's scream caused General Grievous to look behind himself, annoyed at how loud she was being. Didn't she know that the jungle was full of dangerous animels? Then again she'd never been there before so she wouldn't. What he saw made his eyes grow wide with shock.

A giant bird had swooped down on the Jedi woman and had carried her into the sky. "HELP!" she screamed, wiggling in its grasp.

Grievous cursed. Why did she _always_ have to cause something? Now he would have to save her somehow. He ran after the bird yelling and cursing, wondering how he was going to get that blasted bird to let her go before it took her to its nest for dinner, with her on the menu!

That thought was kinda comical and Grievous almost laughed out loud as he chased after the bird and its unwilling meal.

* * *

Shaak Ti smacked at the bird's legs, trying to make it let her go. _What am I _doing? she wondered. _I'm a Jedi Master and I'm about to be eaten by a giant bird! Oh, if only Grievous hadn't of taken my lightsaber. _Just then her hand rested on something on her belt. _What? _she looked down at it. A lightsaber handle. _What? Where did _this_ come from?Well no matter it will be useful now._

She pulled it off her belt and activated it. The stupid bird, taken by surprise by seeing a huge glowing rod of light appear infront of its face, squaked loudly and let her go.

The next thing she was aware of was her body falling down into the jungle.

* * *

Grievous looked up when he heard Shaak Ti scream. He stopped right infront of a swamp and stared up at the dot in the sky that was getting bigger with every passing second.

_What is that?_

Suddenly that dot took on a form and the cyborg's vision was suddenly filled with a red skined, robed, body slamming into his face.

"GAH!" he groaned, as he was knocked backwards into the swamp. Mud shot up everywhere.

"Oh," Shaak Ti groaned lifting her head. "What did I run into?"

She heard Grievous moan.

She looked up. She saw him staring at her with glaring golden eyes. "Oh!" she gasped pushing herself up. "I'm so sorry!"

Grievous grabbed her arm and pulled her off of him. She plopped into the mud as he stood up. "You'd better be," he grumbled, looking down at her.

"I said I was sorry!" she shot back. She looked down at her clothes. "Look what you did!"

"It never would have happened if you hadn't of dropped your guard," he informed her.

"It's not my fault that stupid bird grabbed me!"

"That bird wouldn't have grabbed you if-" he gave up. There was just no arguing with Jedi. They were so stuborn and always thought they were right. "Forget it, woman. There's no point arging about it." He put out his hand. "I'll help you up."

The Jedi woman stared at his hand a minute, totally shocked by his change of manners. _What the?_

"Well," he said impatiently.

"Thank you." She lifted her hand and rested it in his durasteel palm. He gave a mighty heave and pulled her to her feet so fast she staggered forward and smacked into his chest.

He grunted on impact then she felt his hand rested on her shoulder. She took a step back and stared at him. His hand stayed where it was. _Is he flirting? _For some reason, part of her wished he was.

"You're blushing, Jedi," he said flatly.

She gasped and put her hands on her cheeks. She felt hot. How embarresing! She _was _blushing! _This how a Jedi is suppost to think! Breathe, Shaak Ti! Calm down! _she took a few deep breathes and felt better. _That's it. Try to remember that you're a Jedi. If you keep thinking the way you have been recently you'll find yourself getting into a lot of trouble. _

"Is there something wrong?" Grievous asked, tilting his head.

"No!" she gasped, backing away from him. "I'm fine! Nothing wrong here!"

"Are you sure?" he asked. "Are you hurt?" He got close again. "Let me look at your wound."

She tried to back but he grabbed her and pulled her toward him. His metalic hands explored the area where her wound was. He saw it was healing nicely, though it had some mud on it which he quickly brushed off.

All this time Shaak Ti's heat was pounding. She felt strange, light headed, totally not like herself.

_What's going on with me? It's _just_ Grievous..._

"There seems to be no infection," he said letting her go.,"Let's keep moving."

He touched her shoulder as he walked by, an indication that he wanted her to get moving. Somehow she felt he was doing that for more than just that reason. He was tormenting her. Emotionally.

_Stop it! _she scolded herself, slapping her own cheeks. _Stop thinking like that! You're a Jedi! Jedi do not think like that!_

_But women do, _a small voice in the back of her mind reminded her. _You're a woman._

That was right. She was a Jedi but she was _also _a woman. Lately her woman emotions were taking over her Jedi training. Especially when she was around a certain cyborg. Shaak Ti stared at his cape covered back. _Emotions... emotions toward him... Positive... kind feelings... loving feeling... atraction?_

_A/N_

_She's starting to realize that she likes him. :D The next chapter will have some of what people call fluff. Can you wait? I hope you liked the chapter even though there was no song for it. I couldn't find one that fit. Sorry. _


	15. Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

It was getting dark by the time General Grievous and Shaak Ti stopped to rest. They had been walking for hours and the Togruta couldn't wait to get off her feet and right then the ground looked very inviting.

"Wait here," Grievous said looking at her as she sat down on a fallen log.

"Where are you going?" she asked looking up at him.

Grievous chose not to answer that question. All he did say was. "I'll be right back," then vanished into the darkened woods.

_Please, please forgive me,  
But I won't be home again.  
Maybe someday you'll look up,  
And, barely conscious, you'll say to no one:  
"Isn't something missing?"_

_You won't cry for my absence, I know -  
You forgot me long ago.  
Am I that unimportant...?  
Am I so insignificant...?  
Isn't something missing?  
Isn't someone missing me?_

Shaak Ti sighed and pulled her knees up to her chin. She listened to the sounds of creatures of all shapes and sizes as they scurried, flew, or ran through the dense jungle around her. The sounds made her nervous and a little bit scared though she would never admit it to anyone, especially Grievous.

_I hope Grievous gets back here soon, _she found herself praying. She then realized what had been on her mind and pushed it away. She wasn't going to think like that.

What did she need him for anyway? She was a Jedi. She could take care of herself. She even had a lightsaber, though she had no idea how she'd even aquired it.

_I wonder if Grievous put it on my belt after I had fallen asleep on his ship, _she wondered, taking the weapon off her belt and holding it up to look at it. _Did he give it to me for protection? _She noticed something. _This lightsaber looks familiar. Is it mine?_

_Even though I'm the sacrifice,  
You won't try for me, not now.  
Though I'd die to know you love me,  
I'm all alone.  
Isn't someone missing me?_

Before she could examine it farther she heard a noise in the woods that sounded awful close. Infact a little too close. Quickly she jumped to her feet and fumbled with the activation switch of her blade. If something was in those woods ready to attack she'd be ready.

A rod of blue light illuminated the area but the light didn't reach very far. Her hands trembled and she felt a disturbance in the Force. She could feal fear rising up within her. She hoped that if she was attacked she would be able to keep her head long enough to fight. "Whatever you are I'm not scared of you!" she shouted into the dark jungle. "I'm a Jedi Master! I fear nothing! So... so stay where you are!"

Suddenly she felt something cold and metallic wrap around her waist. She hadn't expected that and it totally messed up her plan of action. Screaming in panic she turned around and raised her blade... only to discover that the monster that had grabbed her was General Grievous.

_Please, please forgive me,  
But I won't be home again.  
I know what you do to yourself,  
I breathe deep and cry out,  
"Isn't something missing?  
Isn't someone missing me?"_

"GENERAL!" she exclaimed lowering her blade.

"Hello," he said as if nothing had happened.

"You shouldn't sneak up on people," she scolded. "I almost killed you."

Grievous let her go. He dropped his arms and so for no apparent reason. "I'm fine too, thank you."

That statement knocked her completely off balance. "What?" she was totally confused. Had he expected her to ask him how he was doing? How could he even have considered that she would have asked him that? What had he ment anyway?

He didn't answer her question when she asked him. All he said was. "Don't worry anymore. There were no dangerous creatures in the area."

_Only you, _she almost said but didn't. Instead she sat back down on the log and stared up at him. "Why did you come up behind me like that?" she demanded.

_Even though I'm the sacrifice,  
You won't try for me, not now.  
Though I'd die to know you love me,  
I'm all alone.  
Isn't someone missing me?_

"Like what?" he asked as if he had no idea what she was talking about.

She gave him a sharp look. "You know what I mean, General!" she snapped, in no mood to be nice anymore. "You came up behind me and wrapped your arms around me! What were you thinking!"

"Nothing," he replied his accented voice revealing growing adgitation. _Stupid Jedi. _"I just felt like doing it."

"Why?" she wanted to know.

He glared at her. "I don't have to tell you," he growled.

"Stop it!"

"Stop what?"

She stood up and faced him, tembling with a strange rage. "Stop acting that way around me!" she said clenching her rose red fists. "You don't have to keep rubbing it in! I know you hate me. I know you hate _all_ Jedi! I know you're happy that the Order fell thanks to Anakin Skywalker and Chancellor Palpatine! You can just go ahead and admit it! But you don't. You want to hold it over me and that's why you haven't kill me yet!"

"Sha-" he started.

"You didn't care!" she cut him off. "You _still_ don't care! The rest of the Jedi are dead so why don't you just kill me as well?" she asked, her fists shaking now. "Why do you keep hesitating? Why do you hold back? Why don't you just do what you are longing to do? Just do it already! End my life if you desire to do so!" she looked right at him and screamed. "WHY ARE YOU HOLDING BACK!"

_And if I bleed, I'll bleed,  
Knowing you don't care.  
And if I sleep just to dream of you  
I'll wake without you there,  
Isn't something missing?  
Isn't something..._

Grievous looked away.

Shaak Ti started crying as she suddenly felt foolish. Her outburst helped bring out her buried emotions. Her Jedi training was failing. She felt despair, fear, anger, grief, and even insanity fighting their way to the surface of her Force shielded apathy.

_I'm going mad! I'm going mad just like Depa had! _she felt herself falling. _I'm going to the darkside. I'm... I can't see the light anymore! I'm dying! _Her whole body pitched forward. She opened her eyes and saw the whole world spinning around her. _Is this how it looks when one falls? _and her eyes closed again.

Suddenly she felt her face, chest, and shoulders smack into something cold and metallic. She opened her eyes again. She'd fallen right into Grievous' armored breastplate. She felt his hands rest on her shoulders. She looked up. His face was close to hers. This time when she looked into his eyes she didn't see hate or rage, she saw... compassion.

"G... General," she stammered.

"Shaak ti," he said slowly, using her name for the first time without added titles. "I'm, not holding back. I don't want to kill you. Not anymore. I can see it... I can finally see that even though you are a Jedi you are still a living creature and you... have emotions just like everyone else. You just try to hide it under false word and actions."

"Grievous..."

"Just forget about it, Jedi. The war is over and you lost. You lost and I was betrayed. We are even. We are in the same situation. We don't have to fight anymore. It is over..."

His arms wrapped around her body. They seemed so... gentle... so unlike the Grievous she was used to. It felt almost like an embrase from a lover... not an enemy.

"So stop fighting," he said looking at her with those deep golden eyes of his. "Just stop fighting."

And right then she did.

_Even though I'm the sacrifice,  
You won't try for me, not now.  
Though I'd die to know you love me,  
I'm all alone.  
Isn't someone missing me?_

_A/N_

_So this chapter wasn't super fluffy but it did have a little bit. I had a slight problem trying to figure out the right song for this chapter. **Missing **by Evanescense or **Move Along **bty all American Rejects. I finally decided on **Missing** but maybe **Move Along** would have been better. I'm not sure. Anyway. **Missing **Is Copyright Evanescence. and just to let you decided which would have been better I'll put the lyrics for **Move Along **below. **Move Along **is Copyright All American Rejects._

_Go ahead as you waste your days with thinking  
When you fall everyone stands  
Another day and you've had your fill of sinking  
With the life held in your...  
Hands are shaking cold  
These hands are meant to hold_

_Speak to me, when all you got to keep is strong  
Move along, move along like I know ya do  
And even when your hope is gone  
Move along, move along just to make it through  
Move along  
Move along_

_So a day when you've lost yourself completely  
Could be a night when your life ends  
Such a heart that will lead you to deceiving  
All the pain held in your...  
Hands are shaking cold  
Your hands are mine to hold_

_Speak to me, when all you got to keep is strong  
Move along, move along like I know you do  
And even when your hope is gone  
Move along, move along just to make it through  
Move along_

_(Go on, go on, go on, go on)  
When everything is wrong, we move along  
(Go on, go on, go on, go on)  
When everything is wrong, we move along  
(Along), along, (along), along, (along), along_

_Softly:  
When all you got to keep is strong  
Move along, move along like I know you do  
And even when your hope is gone  
Move along, move along just to make it through_

_Loudly:  
When all you got to keep is strong  
Move along, move along like I know you do  
And even when your hope is gone  
Move along, move along just to make it through_

_x2  
(Move along)  
(Go on, go on, go on, go on)  
Right back what is wrong  
We move along  
x2  
Fade out_


	16. Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

When Shaak Ti woke up the next morning she reviewed the events of last night in her head. She wasn't sure about what had happened after Grievous had told her to stop fighting but she had a small idea. If had felt nice to have someone hold her in their arms for once. Sometimes she'd dream about it at the Jedi Temple but tried her best to keep that longing in check. Now that she was with someone who might be feeling for her it was harder to do so.

She felt a warmth on her body and looked down at her clothes. Some time during the night Grievous had taken off his cape and draped it over her body but she couldn't be sure when.

_I wonder where he is now? _she thought sitting up. She looked around herself. She saw the strangely colored trees and flowers growing around the clearing but no cyborg. _Where is he? Where did he go? Is there something he needed to do?_

Suddenly she heard a rustling in the brush and tensed, grabbing for the lightsaber on her belt. She felt something in the Force but wasn't sure what it was, either way; she was going to be ready.

_I hope it's just Grievous._

She decided to not take any chances and gripped her lightsaber tighter. A familiar tall figure stepped out of the trees just then. She recognized who it was and sighed, loosening her grip on the deadly blade. _Grievous, _she thought. _I should have known._

"So," he said putting his hands behind his back as he walked up to her. "I see you have finally awakened. How are you feeling?"

"Better thank you," she said smiling a little.

"Good." He put out his hand. "Then we'd better be going," he said taking her hand and helping her stand. She handed him his cape and he put it back on. "I hope you were warm enough."

"Yes," she said not looking at him. "Your cape is very warm, thank you."

"You're welcome," he said turning away from her. "Now let's go. My village is only a few hours walk from here."

"Is that where you've been all night?" she wanted to know, as she fell in step with him.

"Mostly," he replied shrugging. He looked back at her. "By the way..."

"Yes?"

"I'd like to ask you something."

"Yes?"

"Do you hate me?"

That stopped her cold. She had to think about that question for a moment. He'd hurt her and people she knew and loved in the two and a half years since their first encounter. He'd caused so much pain and suffering for so many worlds and races. She had all the right to hate him... _should _hate him... yet... whenever she looked into his eyes she saw something behind all that rage and hatred, behind the wall of anger he'd created.

A pained, tormented soul.

From what she had just learned recently she understood why he was the way he was. She couldn't hold it against him. She bore no grudge. He wasn't a mindless droid. He was just a puppet. Dooku's puppet then Sidious'. It hadn't been _his_ fault. _None_ of it was his fault. The ones to blame were the Sith. They had lied to him and prayed on his feelings. They had manipulated him. It was their fault and it would stay that way.

She looked up at his expectantly face and gave the only answer she could. "No General," she said slowly otherwise she might mess up. "I do not hate you."

He stared in startlement at her answer. He couldn't believe her. Not yet. He wanted to hear it again. "Really?"

She nodded in firm confirmation. "Yes, really," she replied, her eyes closed halfway and a very tiny smile playing on her rose petal soft lips. "I do not hate you. I never have. Hate isn't something a Jedi or _anyone _should practice."

"Hmm," he mused tapping a clawed metallic finger against the lower part of his mask. "Maybe you're right about that. Like you Jedi say "Hate leads to suffering". That is true in my case and in the case of the people I killed. Very true," He shook his head as if to rid his mind of a horrible memory then looked back at her, his eyes softer still. "I'm sorry," he said.

She walked up to him. "It's both our fault really," she said putting a hand on his arm. "But most of all the Senates. Maybe we should have listened to your appeals after all."

"You got that right."

She didn't argue with him. She knew he was right. "I'm sorry," she said again.

He put a hand on her shoulder but said nothing. He was too busy thinking. _Some Jedi... _he coughed once the said. "Let's keep going."

"Okay."

He let his hand drop and she did the same. They started walking again. She followed his closely. They walked in silence for a few minutes. Suddenly Shaak Ti felt a disturbance in the Force.

"Hold it," she said reaching out and grabbing his cape.

He jerked to a stop. He looked back at her with annoyance in his eyes but before he could say anything she put her finger to her lips and hissed. "_Shh_!"

He obeyed and went quiet. They listened.

At first the two hear only the sound of birds and the wind playing with the trees but gradually they began to hear other sounds. Sounds that didn't belong.

Footsteps. Human footsteps and voices.

"What is that?" Grievous asked in a whisper. "Who is that?"

Shaak Ti shook her head. "I'm not sure," she said quietly. She crept up to some trees. Curious, Grievous followed. They peeked out of their hiding place. The two spotted white suits of armor and blasters.

"Clone Troopers?" Shaak Ti whispered, puzzled about their appearance. "What are they doing here? I thought you said Palpatine wouldn't think of sending them here?"

"I thought he wouldn't," Grievous said looking at her. "I guess I was wrong." He ducked his head back into their hiding spot and rested part of his left hand on his face, thoughtfully. "The problem is; what are we going to do about them? I can't let them find us and I can't let them get to my village. If they do they'll kill everyone!"

Shaak Ti looked at him. She couldn't think of anything and he was always the one with all the strategy. "What are we going to do?" she wanted to know.

He shook his head then said something that made her spirits sink. "I don't know..."

_A/N_

_No song for this chapter. There wasn't enough room and nothing would work anyway. Well I hope this chapter was okay. I still have plenty to do before the end of this fic. I'm going to change some of chapter 17 when I start it because what I wrote is kinda weird. All well I'm sure you'll like what I'm going to write instead better. Till then. _


	17. Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

Shaak Ti stared at Grievous in shock. He didn't know what to do? When had he ever said that to her? To anyone? This wasn't like him.

"You don't know what to do?" she asked him. "We have to do something. If we stay here they'll find your village and kill everyone. Do you want that?"

"No," he said shaking his head. "but what can I do?"

Suddenly the sound of a lightsaber being activated made him look at the Togruta. When he saw her face it was one of pure determiantion. "We will fight them," she told him. "There is nothing else we _can_ do. We must keep them away from your village even if it means killing them."

Grievous stared at her. "Shaak Ti..." he said.

She put out her hand. "General, we must get rid of these clones. There are too many for me to fight by myself. You must fight with me." her hand wavered slightly. It gave away the nervousness she was trying to hide. "Please. We must get rid of these clones. Together."

Grievous stared at her a little longer then realized she was right. He had to do this. If he didn't, the people in his village would die and it would be his fault. If he didn't do anything the Sith would win. Just the thought of the Sith angered him. Instantly he slapped is hand into her's and said. "Let's do this."

She smiled. "Now there's the General I remember."

* * *

Commander Cody looked around the lush Kaleesh jungle as he spoke to Darth Sidious through the radio in his helmet. "Sir, I haven't spotted the targets yet but we'll keep looking. Do you have any suggeastions on where we should search?"

"The General's village is only a a short distance away from your location," Sidious told him. "I would advise you to go there and look. If anyone refuses to cooperate kill them."

"Yes sir," Cody said before he cut the communication.

Just then he heard the sound of blaster fire. Instantly he was running. When he reached the other troopers he saw two figures holding glowing rods of light charging at the Clones and blocking each and every bolt they shot. _So they were here! _Cody thought running toward the others shouting orders.

* * *

Shaak Ti saw Commander Cody and ten other troopers join the ones she and Grievous were charging at. She narrowed her eyes at him and pushed aside any guitly feelings. They were armed and they were firing. She could not nothing about it but kill.

"Look out, Shaak Ti!" Grievous shouted suddenly.

The Jedi woman turned around just in time to avoid a missle one of the troopers shot at her. She jumped out of the way and gave it a small Force Push, sending it back at the one who fired it. The missle flew toward the trooper and he jumped out of the way causing the missle to hit a large tree and knock it over. Grievous was in the trees path and jumped aside to avoid it. He then grabbed the missle launching tropper and finished him off.

Shaak Ti's target wound up being Commander Cody who stood back and ordered the others. She knew she had to get rid of him first, otherwise he'd send for re-enforcements and Sidious would know they were there.

_I cannot let you do any such thing, _she thought absently deflecting blaster fire. _I have to end this now. With you!_

She threw herself into the air. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed coming down at him, his lightsaber lifted above her head with both hands.

Cody looked up at her and jumped out of the way just as she landed in the spot where he had stood. Her lightsaber only cut dirt. A disturbance in the Force caused her to roll sideways as another missle came at her. She twisted out of its path and looked back toward Cody. He held the missle launcher.

"CODY!" Grievous shouted from behind him.

Cody turned away from the Jedi and aimed the missle launcher at the cyborg. Shaak Ti saw her chance. Righting herself she plunged at him and just as he was about to pull the trigger her lightsaber slid into his back and burst out the other side.

Cody dropped the launched and staggered forward. Grievous' lightsabers finished him off.

"Commander!" another trooper shouted.

Both the Jedi and the cyborg turned their attention to the other troopers. They all aiming their weapons at them. Grievous and Shaak Ti shared a grim nod then came at the troopers. They made short work of them and within a few mintes they were all gone.

When they were done Shaak Ti stood there panting for a few minutes staring what they had done. She knew they had had no other choice but for some reason she still felt guilty. "I think we should bury them," she said suddenly.

Grievous, who stood a short distance away from her looked up at her and asked. "Why?"

"If we don't and they send more they'll figure out what happened and come looking for your village." she explained. "Do you want that?"

Grievous was silent as he digested what she had just said. Finally he nodded. "No," he said. "I can see the wisdom in that."

He walked up to her. She stared up at him and didn't take a step back. He put his hands on her shoulders and leaned his face toward her ear. "Thank you," he whispered into it.

"Yo... you're welcome," she stammered, blushing slightly. She turned away from him so he couldn't see her face. "Let's get rid of these bodies now."

It didn't take long for them to bury the clone troopers. The soil on his planet was soft and easily sifted. When they were done not much time had gone by. Grievous was relieved. He was eager to get going and as Shaak Ti finished covering the last trooper with dirt he put his hand on her shoulder and said. "Let's go. The village is not too far from here."

She nodded and his hand slipped away. She watched him walk away from her a moment before she sighed and fought with her growing emotions for a bit before she followed.

* * *

Awhile later the two stepped out of the jungle and found themsleves staring at a ghost town of a Kaleesh village. Shaak Ti's dark purple eyes looked around the village taking everything in. She saw ruined buildings nearly crumbling with each gust of wind that blew through them. Weeds grew out of everything even places where plants shouldn't be growing. A small breeze came up and part of a hut's roof tumbled to the ground. The silence was unnerving.

"I thought there would be some people here," she said.

Grievous didn't say anything to her. He walked farther into the village looking around for signs of life. "Hello!" he called looking over the ruined buildings. "Is anyone here?"

Silence.

Grievous walked back over to the Jedi woman. He grabbed her wirst and gave it a jerk saying. "C'mon."

She nodded and followed him. As they walked back in together. He kept a tight hold on her wrist and she began to wonder if he was scared of something, or dredding what he might find. "Is anyone here?" he called again. "It's me! General Grievous! Hello!"

Shaak Ti looked around. She didn't see anyone but she did feel something, a presense of some kind. "Someone is here," she whispered, looking up at him.

He looked down at her. "How can you tell?"

"I can feel it."

"Where are they?" he inquired, hope sparking in his eyes.

She could only shake her head and shrug. "I don't know where they are. I can only feel them through the Force."

"The Force," he muttered looking away from her.

They walked a little more and Grievous called out again. "Is anyone here? If you are you can come out I won't hurt you! It's me! General Grievous!"

A shufflng sound in one of the houses caused him to freeze. He and the Jedi woman looked toward it. "Hello?" he called again. "There's no reason to be afraid!" he called to whoever it was. "I won't hurt you! I'm one of you!"

The shuffling sound came again. This time closer. A minute later a figure stepped out of the ruins. Shaak Ti stared at the firgure.

It had deep golden eyes, reddish/brown skin, and two white tusks on either side of its head. It wore a muumuu hide dress decorated with multi colored beeds and blue and black feathures. In it's whispy thin soil colored hair were braided feathers of the same color. Shaak Ti recognized it instantly. She'd stared at Grievous picture long enough to know what it was. A female Kaleesh.

"Shiiza?" Grievous asked, seeming to recognize the female.

The female cocked her head in confusion. "Do I know you?" she asked him.

"It's me, General Grievous," he replied.

"Grievous?" she asked walking up to him and staring into his eyes. "Is that really you?"

"Yes," he said nodding.

She stared at him a little longer until she recognized him then screamed. "GRIEVOUS!" before hugging his around the waist and crying.

Shaak Ti felt a sudden unexpected pang of jealousy but immediately pushed it away. "Who is Shiiza?" asked standing beside him.

The Kaleesh female looked at the Togruta and stared. She let Grievous go so she could get a better look. "A Togruta?" she said looking Shaak Ti over then glancing back at Grievous.

"This is Shaaak Ti," Grievous replied, seeing the question in the Kaleesh's eyes. He put a hand on the Kaleesh's shoulder and looked at the Jedi. "This is Shiiza Zephina. She's my younger sister."

The unwanted jealousy went away instantly. "I didn't know you had a sister," Shaak Ti said. She bowed to Shiiza. "Pleased to meet you."

Shiiza nodded then looked back at Grievous. "Can I speek with you privately a moment?" she asked. "There's something important I need to ask you."

Grievous was confuses but he nodded. He looked at Shaak Ti. "Do you mind?" he asked.

She shook her head, thinking the female wanted to catch up on old times.

Grievous looked back at Shiiza and nodded. They walked away from the Togruta together.

_A/N_

_I hope you liked my little action sequense. Someone told me I needed more action because all Grievous and Shaak Ti were doing was talking. Well I came up with something and I think it's a lot better than what I had originally written down. I hope it was okay. Till next time. Incase you might be wondering Shaak Ti's still trying to push aside her feelings toward him. She doesn't realize she's falling in love.  
_


	18. Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

Once the two Kaleesh were safely out of earshot behind one of the ruined houses Shiiza said. "Where have you been all this time? We thought you were dead all this time! Why didn't you tell us you were alive?"

"I'm glad to see you too," Grievous said sarcasticly. He looked around and changed the subject. "What happened here? Where is everyone?"

_(When this began)  
I had nothing to say  
And I get lost in the nothingness inside of me  
(I was confused)  
And I let it all out to find  
That I'm not the only person with these things in mind  
(Inside of me)  
But all the vacancy the words revealed  
Is the only real thing that I've got left to feel  
(Nothing to lose)  
Just stuck/ hollow and alone  
And the fault is my own, and the fault is my own_

"Most of them are dead," she informed him.

He stared at her in surprise. "Dead?"

"Yes, dead," she replied. "After the Muuns that came here to see you left for the last time a disease spread through out the village. The disease killed almost everyone including your three wives, most of your sons and all but one of your daughters."

He took this news without reaction. He would grieve later. "Who's still alive?" he wanted to know.

_I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real  
I wanna let go of the pain I've held so long  
(Erase all the pain till it's gone)  
I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm close to something real  
I wanna find something I've wanted all along  
Somewhere I belong_

"Yaza, Meaya, and your favorite daughter Rin." she told him looking into the sky.

"Where are they now?" he inquired, looking ready to start searching for them. "Are they at the house?"

Shiiza shook her head. "They moved to the village in the mountains. There is no one left at your home. It's an empty ruin just like most of the other houses."

Grievous looked like he was about to say something about that but Shizza plowed forward. "And what is with the Togruta?" she demanded, pointing at Shaak Ti who was still where they left her, looking around the village curiously. "Why did you bring her here in the first place."

Grievous side stepped the question. "Is the Elder here?" he asked.

"No," she replied. "He died too. My husband is the Elder now." She went back to her question. "Why is the Togruta here?"

"That doesn't concern you, Shiiza," he snarled. "It's not any of your business who I bring to Kalee."

"It does if it goes against our teachings!" she retorted.

"Shaak Ti isn't going to be any trouble!" he insisted.

_And I've got nothing to say  
I can't believe I didn't fall right down on my face  
(I was confused)  
Looking everywhere only to find  
That it's not the way I had imagined it all in my mind  
(So what am I)  
What do I have but negativity_  
'_Cause I can't justify the way, everyone is looking at me  
(Nothing to lose)  
Nothing to gain/ hollow and alone  
And the fault is my own, and the fault is my own_

"She will if you decide to have an relationship with her!" his sister shot back. "That is against our teachings!"

_What is she implying? _"Damn it, Shiiza!" Grievous shouted. "I can't do that anyway! My body's more metal than flesh!"

Shiiza stared at him a moment then raised a finger, poking it against breast plate. Yet you still have ways to do things..." she muttered.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOST TO MEAN!" he roared.

She folded her arms and gave him a disgusted stare. "You know what I mean, brother," she spat. "They may have taken your body away but they didn't take away everything." she locked eyes with him. "They left everything internal. I got a copy of their record of you. They left all your organs including certains other things.."

"Why are you telling me this?" he demanded.

She smirked. "I just thought you might want to know." she glanced over at Shaak Ti. "In case you want to try it with someone."

_I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real  
I wanna let go of the pain I've held so long  
(Erase all the pain till it's gone)  
I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm close to something real  
I wanna find something I've wanted all along  
Somewhere I belong_

He knew what she ment and he didn't like it. "Shiiza you are sick you know that?"

"So is what happened to you and this village!" she snapped. "This is your fault you know? If you hadn't of agreed to work for the Intergalatic Banking Clan none of this would have happened."

Grievous looked away in shame. He already knew that. "I know," he said.

"Then why did you come back now?" she asked. "It's been almost fiive years since you left. Why couldn't you have come back when they finished recontructing you? Why didn't you at least write?"

"I don't know."

His sister wasn't satisfied with that answer. "Not good enough," she snarled, baring her teeth angrily. "You leave us and you don't even let us know you are still alive and you dare to return five years later with that... that... heifor?"

"I can do what I want, Shiiza," he snapped. "I thought you'd all be happy to see me."

She turned away from him. "Then you should have come alone," she looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "You sure didn't wait long to find someone else."

"I was told Zelphin, Farleeen, and Imaginary died a few days after I left." he tried to justify himself.

"Of broken hearts, Brother," she said, closing her eyes in sorrow. "You know how much they loved you. They loved you more than anything else in this universe. When you left they were told you were never coming back. When they recieved this news they just waisted away, refusing to eat, drink, or sleep. I wound up taking care of your children. After they died the disease killed all but three of your remaining children." she looked at him with tears in her eyes. "I sense no sorrow in you, Grievous. You were never very good at showing your emotions."

Grievous began to get the strangest feeling. A feeling he hadn't felt in years. Despair. His emotions were returning. Emotions that should have been let go with his former life.

_Shaak Ti, _he thought. _It must be her doing..._

Grievous looked around, suddenly feeling listless. "I want to see my house," he said. "Where is it?"

"The same place it's always been," she replied. She pointed toward the loction of the Temple. "Over there."

Grievous looked at his sister nervously then walked back to the spot where Shaak Ti was waiting. He looked down at her as he passed and grabbed her arm. "Come with me," he said. "I need to see something."

She looked up at him as he drug her backwards. She said a little nervously. "Where are we going?"

He led her away. "Just come with me."

Something in his voice told her not to agrue.

* * *

_I will never know myself until I do this on my own  
And I will never feel anything else, until my wounds are healed  
I will never be anything till I break away from me  
I will break away, I'll find myself today_

Ten minutes later the two stood in front of a ruin of what looked like it had once been a two story house. Most of the roof and window frames were gone, wild vines had grown up, their tendrils grasping into the cracks of the house.

"Why did we come here?" she asked, looking up at the building.

Grievous didn't look at her as he said. "This is my house."

"Your house?" she asked looking at him now.

_I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real  
I wanna let go of the pain I've held so long  
(Erase all the pain till it's gone)  
I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm close to something real  
I wanna find something I've wanted all along  
Somewhere I belong_

He nodded. His hand fell on her shoulder. "Come inside with me," he ordered.

With a firm grasp on her shoulder he led her into the house. Once inside he turned to her and asked. "If I asked you something would you answer honestly?"

She stared at him. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Just tell me."

"Yes," she said. "You know I would."

"If you lost someone important to you would is be right to show your feelings?" he asked.

She still wasn't sure what he ment but she answered. "I have lost people who are important to me," she replied. "First my two Padawans then all my friends at the Jedi Temple. Don't you remember how I reacted to their bodies? I cried, General. So in answer to your question; Yes, it would be okay to show your feelings. If not a lot be at least once."

Grievous' grip on her shoulder loosened as he looked her straight in the eye. "Thank you," he said in a voice that was almost a whisper. "Thank you."

_I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm somewhere I belong  
I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm somewhere I belong  
Somewhere I belong_

_A/N_

_Yet another chapter done! I like this chapter for some weird reason but I alos don't like it for the same reasons. Isn't that jus weird? I listned to this Linkin Park song while I was writing the chapter and it seemed to go well with it so I added it to the chapter. What do you all think? _

_**Somewhere I Belong **is Copywrite Linking Park. I do not own the song or the band. i havwe no money._


	19. Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

Awhile later Grievous went out of his house and stood in the yard, staring at the Temple where the Elders used to meet when they prayed to the Ancestors. His mind wasn't on the Ancestors, the Temple, or his family for that matter, though the thought did cross his mind every few minutes. He was thinking about a lot of things, mostly questions he'd ask himself once in awhile when he was the General on the _Invisable Hand. _Mortal thoughts. Guilty thoughs. _What am I doing? Why am I doing this? Who's gaining something from this? Me? Them? _He knew now that _he _hadn't gained anything from it. He'd just been a puppet. A puppet who danced when he was told to dance. Nothing else, nothing more. A puppet with no meaning.

Grievous stared down at his hands. They'd once been flesh but now all they were were metal stubs with fingers attached. Yet, his still had feeling in them. He'd felt pain when Obi-Wan had cut off three of his six fingers. He hadn't paid much attention then but now he felt more than saw.

_I still have my sense, _he realized. _More now than before. I wonder if that Jedi woman had something to do with it..._

Shaak Ti.

She's saved his life. She could have let him die but she hadn't. She'd also stayed with him even though he knew she could have left him any time.

_Why? _he wondered, glancing back at the house. _Why would she? Why did she?_

_Because she cares... _whispered a voice in the wind. _She feels for you... just like you feel for her..._

_What? I feel for her?_

_Look inside yourself, Grievous, you could have killed her many times but you didn't. Why is that? Why did you hesitate? Could it be because you like... no... love her?  
Love?_

_Yes, love. Search your feelings Grievous. You know you still have them no matter what those Muuns told you. You know they're still there. They are just buried. It's up to you to bring them out and learn to love again._

_How?_

_Only you know that answer, General Grievous._

_

* * *

_

Shaak Ti lay on the bed in the Master bedroom where Grievous and his first wife Zelphin used to sleep, staring at the ceiling thoughtfully. She was trying to figure out Grievous strange behavior. _He's been nice to me ever since we got here,_she thought. _Why? What does he want? What is he planning? _She sat up and looked out the window. _What's he doing out there? Why is he staring at that pyramid? _She looked away. _What's wrong with me? Am I worried about him? Why should I worry about him? Do I care about him? _

_Why shouldn't you be? _something in her mind wanted to know. _Would it hurt that much to worry about General Grievous?_

_No, _she thought truthfully. _It wouldn't hurt to worry about him. In fact with the way I've been feeling lately it would be my duty to worry about him. _

A disturbance in the Force brought her out of her thoughts. "Who's there?" she asked, looking toward the door.

A figure seemed to materialize out of the shadows. A beautiful young Kaleesh female with the exact same eyes as General Grievous walked toward her.

"Who are you?" Shaak Ti asked, staring at the girl.

The female sat down on the bed beside her. "My name is Rin," she replied. "I am the daughter of General Grievous."

"His daughter?" the Togruta remembered something. "Are you the one he's holding in the photograph?"

Rin looked surprised. "Yes," she replied. "How did you know? Did he show you the picture?"

"Not really," the Jedi replied truthfully. "I kinda found it but your father got upset when he caught me looking at it."

The girl Kaleesh looked away. "If I ask you something will you do it for me?"

"I don't kow," Shaak Ti replied surprised that Rin would even want to ask her anything. "It might depend on what it is that you want from me..."

"I understand," Rin said. "But if it's not that hard will you be able to do the thing I am about to request?"

"I'll try my best," the woman promised.

Rin looked right at Shaak Ti and said. "Would you fill the empty space in my father's heart?"

Shaak Ti was surprised by this request. "What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"Will you be there for my father in his time of need?" she asked. "I'm giving you permission to be with him if you want."

"How...?'

"I've beeen watching you since you've arrived on this planet," Rin replied, not moving her gaze from the Togruta's face. "I've seen the way you look at him. I know you have feelings for him whether you want to admit it or not. I've also seen how he acts toward you. You both have feelings for each other but won't admit it."

"What?"

"You look at each other the same way. You both care about each other but refuse to admit it. You're trying to hide your feelings."

Shaak Ti looked away. "I know," she admitted. "But I can't."

"Why can't you?"

The Togruta hesitated. She wasn't sure it would be a good idea to tell Rin that she was a Jedi. She didn't know how the Kaleesh would react.

"Why not?" Rin asked again.

"Because," Shaak Ti hesitated again then blurted. "Because I'm a Jedi!"

Rin took the news with no reaction. "Does it matter?" she asked.

"It does," Shaak Ti protested. "Jedi aren't suppost to fall in love. Jedi aren't suppost to have those kinds of feelings."

"It's only natural to have them," Rin reminded her. "Who cares if you're a Jedi. Jedi are no different than other people. They just try to be but it makes no difference. We all have the same feelings."

There was that word again. Feelings. Shaak Ti had once been told by Master Yoda to use her feelings. _Is this what he ment? _she wondered.

"I know," she finally said.

"So will you?" Rin pressed on. "Will you become my father's comfort? Please say you will."

Shaak Ti thought it over. Now that she knew to use her feelings she realized she cared for him more than she would admit. She looked at Rin who was waiting for an answer and nodded. "Yes. Yes, I will."

_A/N_

_Rin wants to see her father happy. She understands his feelings for Shaak Ti more than Shiiza. Shiiza's a bit of a grump. _


	20. Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

_I wanted you to know I love the way you laugh  
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away  
I keep your photograph and I know it serves me well  
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain_

General Grievous was sorting out what the voice in his mind had said to him when he heard a voice say. "Grievous?"

The cyborg, slightly startled, turned around. He saw Jedi Master Shaak Ti, his Togruta rose, standing behind him. From the look on her face she seemed to want to tell him something.

"Yes?" he asked facing her directly.

"May I talk to you?" she asked, walking toward him.

"About what?" he asked suspiciously.

"About feelings," she replied, her eyes meeting his a moment before they moved away.

"Feelings...," he thought that over a moment before he nodded. "Couldn't hurt. What kind of feelings to you want to talk to me about?"

She hesitated a moment then said slowy. "...Love..."

Grievous was startled. "Love?" he asked in disbelief.

She nodded.

_'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome  
And I don't feel like I am strong enough  
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome  
And I don't feel right when you're gone away_

_You've gone away, you don't feel me here, anymore_

"Why do you want to talk about love?" he asked her. "With me? Me! The one you said is incapable of feeling!"

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't know what I was talking about when I said that."

"Damn right!"

"I said I was sorry!" she exclaimed, looking close to tears. "You know what? Nevermind. Just forget I said anything." she turned to go back to the house.

Grievous put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Wait," he said. "Don't go. Not yet."

The Togruta stopped. She looked over her shoulder to lock eyes with him. "Yes?" she asked.

"You wanted to talk about love," he said. "Well go ahead. Tell me about it."

She turned around again. "Okay," she said. "What do you think of me?"

This question surprised him. He'd expected her to ask him what he thought about love. Instead she was asking what he thought of her. "As a Jedi or a person?" he asked.

"Does it matter?"

_The worst is over now and we can breathe again  
I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away  
There's so much left to learn, and no one left to fight  
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain_

"Well... As a Jedi you are just as ruthless and devoid of feelings as your counterparts. You are a good fighter. You are everything a Jedi should be," he began. "As a person... I know very little about that but what I do is positive. As a normal person you are compassionate, you care for people and you are loyal."

"Is that all?"

"Should there be more?"

She looked away. "I don't know." _Should there be? What were you expecting? He probably doesn't even share your feelings. _"I guess not. If that's all you think of me, General."

"I...," he paused. "Shaak Ti. Now that I told you what I think of you, it's your turn. What do you think about me?"

"As a General or a person?"

"I know what you think of me as a General," he pointed out. "A person."

She didn't even have to think about it. "Honestly, General Grievous, sir, I know very little about that. In fact, I know nothing of that part of you."

Grievous was slightly disappointed with her answer. He was expecting her to say something else. _I never do show my true self around her very much anyway. No wonder she can't answer. _"Fine." he said. "Just answer this question then. What are your feelings toward me?'

For the longest time she said nothing. Grievous began to think she never would. Fianlly she surprised him by blurting out. "I love you."

Grievous eyes got larger than usual. "What?" he asked, not sure he heard her right.

She looked right at him and said it again, this time a little louder. "I love you, General Grievous."

_'Cause I'm broken when I'm open  
And I don't feel like I am strong enough  
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome  
And I don't feel right when you're gone away_

He had head heard her right the first time. Now he had no idea how to react. He just stood there staring at her.

Shaak Ti suddenly felt stupid under his gaze. _I shouldn't have said anything, _she thought. _But I promised Rin I would try... Promised myself... I.. would... _Suddenly she broke down crying. "I'm sorry, General," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have said anything! I didn't mean it!"

She felt a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay," a voice said. "I don't mind."

She looked up at Grievous. "You don,'t?" she hicuped.

"Listen, Shaak Ti," he said. "If you really do love me would you...?"

"What?"

"Would you accept my true face?"

She was confused by that question. What did he mean? She didn't know but she answered anyway. "Yes..."

Grievous turned away from her then. She watched as he put his hands on his mask and slowly, very slowly, remove it. When he faced her again she gasped and took a step back. Now she was finally seeing the true face of General Grievous of Kalee. Grievous face, though still red, was deathly pale and covered in black burn marks here and there on the skin. Though it was hard to believe, she could tell his face had once been quite hansome. In fact, in some way, it still was. Even so, his eyes seemed to be the only things alive.

_'Cause I'm broken when I'm open  
And I don't feel like I am strong enough  
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome  
And I don't feel right when you're gone away_

_'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome  
And I don't feel right when you're gone away_

_You've gone away  
You don't feel me here anymore_

"Disgusting isn't it?" he asked in his voice, his true voice.

Shaak Ti could only nod as she took in his real voice. Though it was slightly raspy it also sounded young and stronge, almost exactly like Anakin's with an accent.

Grievous looked like he was expecting an answer. "Would you accept me even with this face? Would you accept my true face?"

The Jedi woman took Grievous mask in her hands and looked at it. She knew she'd still have to wear it most of the time but for now he didn't have to. She looked up at him with her gentle violet eyes.

"Yes, Geneal Grievous," she said smiling soflty. "Yes, Grievous of Kalee. I would accept your true face. No matter what you have done to me or anyone else you have never killed me. I thank you for that. I thank you for this chance..."

"I thank you too," he said also smiling. "I thank you for accepting me even after what I have done to you."

Shaak Ti stepped closer to him and put her arms around his neck, he put his around her waist. The Togruta moved her face close to his and very gently rested her rose colored lips on his macabre ones. It took a few seconds for Grievous to get into the kiss but when he did he let go of her waist and put his hands on her head instead to hold her in place. Now they kissed more deeply and didn't break away until they needed to breathe. Then, as a finally, they hugged as well.

"Thank you," they both said in one voice.

Grievous let her go and took her hand. "Let's go inside," he said. "It's getting cold out here."

She nodded, as she felt the chill of the evening on her red skin.

As the two headed into the house they knew it would be hard to make this work but they would try their best. Shaak Ti knew the only way it could work was if he told her the same thing she'd told him. That he loved her.

The moment before they stepped into the house Grievous put his hands on her shoulder and whispered into her ear. "I love you too."

Shaak Ti smiled at looked back at him. "Thank you," she said again.

THE END

_A/N_

_Meh... the ending was a bit weak all well..._

_I so totally enjoyed writing this fic! After writing so many other fics I wanted to try something different. Some parts of this fic were complicated and some parts were drug on a little too much but all in all I totally had a lot of fun writing this. I hope you all had a much fun reading it. Thanks for all the reviews and encouragement. I just hope to ending was okay. I was thinking of doing a sequal but I probably won't. I don't have enough ideas for one. All well. Thanks to all of you guys for reading and reviewing! You're the best!_

_**Broken **is copywrite Seether and Amy Lee._


	21. Epologue

_HEY PEOPLE! GUESS WHAT? THIS IS THE FINAL NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN SHOULDN'T-HAVE-BEEN-EVER-WRITTEN-UP-BUT-WRITTEN-UP-ANYWAY EPOLOGUE FOR **BROKEN**! ENJOY!_

_A few years later..._

Shaak Ti, former Jedi Master of the Temple on Coruscant, stood with her face to the wind as she faced the vast Kaleesh ocean watching the sunset. She'd been living on Kalee for the past five years now and it had finally started to feel like her home. She was waiting, waiting for her husband to return from his meeting with the Rebels. She had a surprise for him. A wonderful surprirse.

She looked down at her stomach and smiled. _I'm sure he'll be happy to hear the news, _she thought, running her hand over her abdomine. _I truely hope he will..._

Shaak Ti was pregnant. (Please don't kill me!)

At first she hadn't understood waht was wrong with her but when she'd spokkn to Grievous' sister, Shiiza, she had discovered the truth. The Kaleesh female, who had gotten to know the Jedi pretty well by then and befriended her, had smiled and told her it was a good thing. Shaak Ti just wasn't sure exactly _how _it had happened.

Now she had to tell Grievous. Far off in the distance she spotted a small black dot coming toward land. She smiled with recognition. _He's coming home..._

The Togruta watched the ship as it crossed the ocean and landed in the forest in an area near the village. _Just like before, _she thought, remembering how they'd arrived on the planet on that fateful day five years ago.

With a Force helped leap, she jumped down from her perch and ran toward the ship. Grievous was just entering the village when Shaak Ti ran to him and dived into him, hugging his neck tightly, his mask bumping against her forehead.

"Shaak Ti!" he exclaimed, surprise. (By now he's not calling her 'female' anymore). "You sure are happy to see me. I wasn't gone _that_ long. Did something happen?"

"Something wonderful," she said smiling. She pyut her hands behind her back. "We're going to have a baby!"

Grievous golden eyes grew wide with surprise. "What?" he asked.

"We're going to have a baby," she said again.

"That's... that's.. GREAT!" he exclaimed as he understood. "That's great!" Suddenly he swept her off her feet. "What are you doing running around llike that? You need to rest! When are you due?"

"Not for a few more months," she said, giggling.

"Well," Grievous said, walking toward the house with her in his arms. "I'll stay with you until this baby is born and after, till he or she is old enough. You need someone to do stuff around here while you can't."

"Shiiza can help me," she told him. "Besides what about the Rebels? Won't they be needing you skills at planning?"

"The Rebels can wait," he told her. "This is more important. I'm going to stay."

She hadn't expected him to stay but it was a nice thought either way. She smiled at him. "I'm glad."

With a new goal in their lives the happy couple disappeared into the cool darkness of the house.

_A/N_

_And there it is! The Epologue I had written but hadn't planned on putting up. I decided to put it up anway. I hope you don't mind too much. AND DON'T ASK HOW SHE GOT PREGNANT! I CAN'T EXPLAIN IT!_

_PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!_


End file.
